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.