Bosnia and Herzegovina seeks Indonesian investment

Bosnia and Herzegovina seeks Indonesian investment

Veeramalla Anjaiah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Thanks to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a true sports
fan, Indonesia's top shuttler Taufik Hidayat received the
country's highest award -- the Bintang Jasa Utama -- recently for
his extraordinary service to the nation.

Taufik, the Olympic and World Badminton Champion, could have
been appointed as an ambassador had he been born in Bosnia-
Herzegovina.

Bosnia-Herzegovina - a small Balkan state with four million
people -- has been honoring its top athletes and appointing them
as ambassadors to friendly countries like Indonesia since its
independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1992.

Sarajevo appointed Murat Muhamed Ramadanovic, a top karateka
as well as a senior sports official, as its new ambassador to
Indonesia. The previous ambassador, Zdravko Rajic was also a
national gymnast.

But the question is: can an athlete become a good diplomat?

"Yes, sportspersons are already goodwill ambassadors. They
promote friendship, fraternity and goodwill among the nations and
people through sports and games. They can become good
professional diplomats if they are appointed as envoys to foreign
countries," Ambassador Ramadanovic, who submitted his credentials
to President Susilo on June 29, told The Jakarta Post in an
interview recently at his office.

Ramadanovic, a karate black belt, who participated in several
international tournaments, is also the president of the Wrestling
Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina and permanent member of the
International Amateur Wrestling Federation (FILA). He was also a
member of the country's Olympic Committee, as well as the
president of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Physical Education
Teachers' Union.

"I am a teacher by profession, especially in physical
training. Actually, I began my career as a teacher at the Grammar
School in Sarajevo in 1976 and I worked there for eight years,"
Ramadanovic, who is also a well-known ski instructor and referee
for handball and soccer.

There is some bad news for the golf-playing diplomats in
Jakarta. Ramadanovic might be a great sportsman, but golf is not
yet in repertoire.

"Sorry, I can't play golf. I want to learn golf in Jakarta.
So, I will take golf lessons at mini golf course," Ramadanovic
said laughingly.

His is a great story of success. Many of his peers in Bosnia
and Herzegovina admire Ramadanovic for his success from an
standard school teacher to an ambassador in the world's fourth
largest nation -- Indonesia.

"I love two things. One is education and the other is sports.
Throughout my life, I worked very hard to succeed in these two
fields. While working in various positions, I never forgot my
education. I received my Ph.D from the Department of Sports and
Physical Training at Sarajevo University," Ramadanovic, who has
an M.A. degree in international relations, said.

Prior to joining the foreign service in 1994, Ramadanovic was
working as the head of the accommodation section at Holiday Inn
Hotel in Sarajevo. After the end of the Bosnian war and the birth
of an independent Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992, the country's
first foreign minister, the late Irfan Ljubijankic, invited
several experts in various fields to join the foreign service.

Patriotic Ramadanovic, who speaks Bosnian, Turkish, English
and French, left his job at the hotel and joined the foreign
ministry as special adviser to the Foreign Ministry's division
for bilateral relations. From there, he never looked back.

In June 1999, he became a counselor at the economic
multilateral relations division and a minister-counselor at the
same division in August 2004.

As a recognition of his 10 years of a distinguished diplomatic
career, he was promoted to the rank of ambassador this year.
Ramadanovic, of Turkish descent in Bosnian Herzegovina,
personally chose Indonesia from among five options.

"My government asked me to chose one country from a list of
five. They were Pakistan, India, Australia, Indonesia and South
Africa. I chose Indonesia because I wanted learn more about this
great country, which has largest Muslim population in the world,"
Ramadanovic, a devout Muslim who recently performed a haj
pilgrimage, said.

The 54-year-old career diplomat is full of praise for
Indonesia and its people.

A true friend thinks of you when all others are thinking of
themselves.

"This is true. Indonesia is the true friend of Bosnia and
Herzegovina. During our struggle for freedom, Indonesia played a
key role by sending its troops in the 1990s under the UN flag.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono came to our country in 1995 as
a UN military observer. We have excellent relations, especially
at the political level with Indonesia," Ramadanovic, who is
married and has two children, said.

But he quickly added that both Indonesia and Bosnia
Herzegovina must work together to improve the existing low level
of bilateral trade.

"This will be my top priority. Our countries have huge
potential. We are inviting Indonesian investors to Bosnia and
Herzegovina to invest there. Ours is a market-friendly economy
with low taxes. Even foreigners can buy houses without any
restrictions," Ramadanovic said, adding that his country offered
to provide training for Indonesian soccer coaches.

He said Bosnia and Herzegovina wants to improve cooperation in
economics, trade, cultural, education and sports fields in order
to forge strong partnership with Indonesia.

Indonesian people, according to Ramadanovic, are the most
friendly people in the world.

"They received me like a brother. I and my family are enjoying
our stay in Jakarta," Ramadanovic, who was elected as a member of
the Parent Teachers Association at the Pakistan International
School in Jakarta, said.

His two children study at the school.