Egypt-Indonesia ties go from strength to strength

Egypt-Indonesia ties go from strength to strength

JAKARTA (JP): Most countries like to claim that the bedrock of
their bilateral ties is people-to-people relationships.

But few countries can claim to have forged the kind of bond
which is evident between Indonesia and Egypt.

The vast distance and geographic contrast between the two
countries have not hampered the growth of compassion between the
two nations.

The most enduring legacy for Indonesia is the fact that Egypt
in 1947 was the first country to recognize Indonesia's
independence.

But the most endearing event probably occurred in the past
four months.

With the full impact of the economic crisis being felt here,
the deleterious effects were being felt by the some 2,500
students studying in Egypt. The Indonesian government in March
was drafting plans to airlift them out of Egypt.

But a spontaneous outpouring of support negated the expected
exodus of Indonesian students as Egyptian citizens contributed
and assisted the students' existence and studies there.

Various financial assistance from the community was received
by the Indonesian Embassy, including a check for 100,000 Egyptian
pounds from the Egyptian government.

One Egyptian businessman donated five tons of rice while
lecturers at Al-Azhar, the oldest university in the world, even
set aside a small portion of their salaries to help.

The Grand Shiekh of Al-Azhar in Friday sermons also urged
people to help the needy students.

Officials here were awed at the sudden philanthropic outburst,
not least of all Egypt's ambassador to Jakarta Abdel Rahim
Shalaby who admitted he was "taken by surprise" especially since
it was not arranged by either government.

"It did not come from the top, it was genuine from the heart,"
he said in a recent interview, while adding that contributions
were "an indication of how the regular Egyptian feels".

With the celebration of Egypt's 46th national day tomorrow,
hopefully ties will open a new and even more cooperative chapter.

A mainstay of the relationship is both government's common
perception of South-South cooperation along with a vision of a
more equitable world order, and the high presence of Indonesian
students in Egypt.

Ambassador Shalaby remains optimistic that these historical
tenets which have served so well in the past will continue to do
so in the future and remain unaffected by the crisis facing
Indonesia.

He pointed out that Egypt would continue to offer about 110
scholarships into Al-Azhar university annually.

Al-Azhar has also maintained a mission of about 60 scholars
here in various parts of the country.

Shalaby refuted suggestions that South-South cooperation would
be a setback as a result of the crisis inflicting Asian
countries, arguing that the situation might actually induce
greater cooperation.

One aspect of ties that he would like to see improve is trade
and economic relations which have not matched the high level of
bilateral cooperation in other fields.

Trade balance is quite low and heavily tipped in Indonesia's
favor. Two-way trade in 1997 stood at US$215 million, of which
$210 was Indonesian exports.

Major products exported were garments, plywood and rubber
products, while Egyptian exports here included cotton, coffee and
spices.

"These figures do not fulfill the expectations nor respond to
the capabilities of the two countries," Shalaby said.

A number of activities recently, including the arrival here of
business delegations and the appointment of an Indonesian special
envoy to the Middle East, have raised hope.

"It is too early to speak about a breakthrough but at least
things seem to be moving on the right track," the ambassador
said, adding that "Egypt is still interested in doing business
with Indonesia despite the crisis".

Speaking on recent political developments in Indonesia,
Shalaby made no qualms about his belief that it would have little
bearing on the bright prospect of future ties.

"Both the Egyptian official and popular view is probably
identical: What is good for Indonesia is good for Egypt!" he
asserted.