Indonesian Ambassador to Qatar Ridwan Hassan.
A two-day workshop on political economy of trade and investments cooperation between Indonesia and the Middle East was recently conducted virtually.
This program highlighted the political partnership of Indonesia and the Middle East region.
The program was organised by the Indonesian Embassy in Qatar, Indef School of Political Economy (ISPE), one of the leading think tanks in Indonesia, and the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF). It was attended by Indonesian students and community both in Indonesia and Qatar.
Indonesian Ambassador to Qatar, H E Ridwan Hassan said: “Indonesia and the Middle East, especially the Gulf countries have maintained contact and have forged new links through people to people contact and travel, migrant labour, and hajj pilgrimage. More recently, and reflecting the global shift in the geo-economic centre of gravity to Asia, Indonesia (and also Southeast Asian) – Gulf investment and exchanges have increased.”
He also noted the role of Qatar in shaping economic ties with ASEAN countries. “In 2020, the volume of trade between Qatar and the ASEAN countries amounted to over US$9 billion and ASEAN countries become a host of Qatar investments in many fields, especially in the energy, financial, real estate, telecommunications, and hospitality sectors. Three prominent Qatar companies have been already in Indonesia since the last decade, namely Ooredoo, Qatar National Bank, Nebras Power, and Qatar Investment Authority.”
H E Hassan also mentioned the recent blockade imposed to Qatar which made the latter “more resilient and made them to be able to come stronger and more confident. Qatar has developed its capacity to be self-reliant on basic needs like dairy products, fruits and vegetables.”
Moreover, he highlighted that economic relations between the two countries on trade and investment showed an increased trend. This, he said because of the “visionary leadership of both countries that cement the solid foundations of relations by highest level exchange visit from 2015 to 2019 and by many follow-up all-level official visit.”
Seven speakers including the Ambassador participated in The Political Economy of Trade and Investments: Indonesia and the Middle East workshop. Among the others are Embellier Advisory, Co-Founder and Senior Partner, Dr. Remi Piet; INDEF Senior Researcher, Prof. Didik J. Rachbini; Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Republic of Indonesia, Director for Middle-Eastern Affairs Bagus Hendraning K.; INDEF Research Associate, Dr. Zulfikar Rakhmat; Lancaster University Fellow, Dr. Guy Burton; and INDEF Center for Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Media Wahyudi Askar.
