Just before a three-course lunch at the Royal Palais de Bruxelles on Tuesday, King Philippe of Belgium expressed his welcome to Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla and took a moment to reflect on the relations between the two countries in the past 68 years.
To the Vice President and his wife Mufidah Jusuf Kalla, Philippe said he still remembered their last visit to Belgium in 2008 and said he was grateful Kalla had made another visit to the European country.
“Queen Mathilde and I are extremely glad to receive today your distinguished delegation, among which are many old friends of Belgium,” the king said.
During his return toast, Kalla, who is a Commander of the Order of Leopold, a prestigious honorary title given to individuals who have done great service to Belgium, said that despite their long cooperation, they still had much room to grow.
“It is our sincere wish that our two countries continue to nurture […] this promising foundation,” he said.
“That is why we are here now and for the next four months will in significant numbers […] show Indonesia’s commitment to closer cooperation. I hope our presence today and for the next four months will trigger more exchanges between our communities,” he ended.
Belgium is the unofficial seat of power for the European Union as it is home to the operational and legislative headquarters of the EU, making it crucial for Indonesia to maintain strong ties, according to Jusuf during a speech in a business forum earlier that morning.
Kalla, who is traveling with an entourage of 34 delegates, is expected to attend the Europalia Arts Festival Indonesia in Brussels, in which up to 460 artists from different parts of Indonesia are set to entertain guests from European countries in 228 cultural events. The festival also features an architectural program called Specific, Generic, Ethnic.
Since 1969, the Europalia arts biennial has invited visitors to discover the arts and cultures of guest countries, like Indonesia. According to the Europalia website, the festival doesn’t limit itself to a single genre or discipline, but lets people marvel at everything from archaeological treasures to contemporary installations, world and classical music to hip hop and punk, traditional puppet theater to experimental dance. The world is also on display at the festival through books and movies.
Responding to Kalla’s remarks, Philippe said he was in agreement with the Vice President, using Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity) as the theme of his toast during the lunch to highlight unity and cooperation.
“We have to find unity in diversity, time and again,” he said. “We have to join forces in order to tackle the challenges we face, like sustainable development, climate change, religious extremism and many others. Our unity will depend on respect for each other’s dignity and […] common purpose.”
During his toast, King Phillippe also highlighted Princess Astrid, his sister, and her economic mission to Indonesia in May 2016 to show his personal interest in maintaining trade and investment between the two countries. Separately, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, who accompanied Jusuf to open the Europalia Arts Festival Indonesia, also met with Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders to talk about various subjects.
Just as on her previous visit to Italy, Retno also expressed her hope that the Belgian government would be fair to Indonesian palm oil products, which, according to her, played an important role for Indonesia.
“Indonesia expects that Indonesian palm oil can get a fair treatment,” she said in a statement.
No comments:
Post a Comment