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.