New envoy admires RI's democracy

Adianto P. Simamora and Veeramalla Anjaiah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Egypt's new ambassador to Indonesia Mohamed El Sayed Taha hailed Indonesia for holding peaceful and democratic elections, including the country's first-ever direct presidential election, in one year.

"I admire Indonesia's advance toward democracy, and I am eager to follow up this democratic experience during my tenure here," Taha told The Jakarta Post in an exclusive interview in his office recently.

"Indonesia is now presenting to the world that moderate Islam and democracy can coexist," said Taha, who arrived in Jakarta on Sept. 26, and submitted his credentials to President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Oct. 4.

Though this is his first diplomatic stint in Jakarta, Taha, who graduated from the Faculty of Economics and Political Science of Cairo University, is neither new to his present job nor a stranger to Southeast Asia.

During his 29-year-long distinguished diplomatic career, Taha has so far worked in six embassies in three continents -- Africa, Europe and Asia -- and served as ambassador to Vietnam from 1998- 2002.

"Southeast Asia is not new to me. I worked in Laos during the early period of my career, and my last posting was in Vietnam," Taha, who speaks fluent Arabic, English, French and Spanish, said.

Given his familiarity with the region and long career, the people of Cairo considered Taha was the right person to represent Egypt -- the most populous Arab country -- in the world's most populous Muslim nation.

Taha, 51, was elated when he heard the news of his new posting.

"I am very happy to be in Jakarta. I feel like I am at home with my brothers and sisters," the ambassador said.

When asked for his impressions of Jakarta and Indonesians, Taha said Indonesians are friendly people.

"It is very quiet, people are very easy going and friendly. When I met Indonesian people for the first time, they greeted me with smiles and respect," he said.

There is another dimension to his new position. Egypt and Indonesia are the leading regional powers in their respective regions, and have maintained close relations with each other since the latter's independence in 1945.

"It is important for me to be an ambassador in Jakarta due to our traditional but strong relationship with Indonesia," Taha said.

Egypt praises Indonesia's foreign policy on Iraq, which fiercely opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq and refused to send any of its troops to that war-ravaged country. Jakarta is also a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause.

"We appreciate Indonesia's stance on Iraq and the Middle East," Taha said.

He said the relations between Egypt and Indonesia go back to the 15th century, when Indonesian students began to arrive in Cairo and other cities to pursue Islamic studies.

"Egypt was the first country in the world that recognized Indonesia's independence in 1947," Taha proudly said.

Both the countries, according to Taha, have good relations in education, culture, religion and politics.

"Currently, there are 3,000 Indonesian students studying in Egypt. Every year, my government awards 120 scholarships to Indonesians to study in Egypt, and sends around 40 Egyptian teachers to teach at Indonesian educational institutions," Taha said.

But the ambassador admitted that, while Egypt's relations with Indonesia had been growing at a tremendous pace in education, political and cultural fields, the growth rate, in terms of trade and investment, was slower.

For example, bilateral trade between both countries is worth around US$300 million, mostly in favor of Indonesia, despite their combined market potential. Egypt and Indonesia have a combined population of nearly 300 million people.

"My main task during my tenure in Jakarta is to expand Egypt's trade relations with Indonesia from the current level. They have huge potential to grow. I am planning to reactivate the business council.

"Some Indonesian businessmen have expressed their interest in investing in Egypt, especially in the petrochemical industry," Taha said.

Indonesian exports to Egypt are mainly wood and paper products, crude palm oil and textiles, while Egyptian exports to Indonesia are mainly cotton waste, dates and fertilizer.

The relations between the two countries will get a further boost when Egyptian President Mahammed Hosni Mubarak and Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheil visit Indonesia to attend the golden jubilee celebrations of the Asia Africa Conference in Jakarta, and give a new twist to century-old ties.

Two Indonesian presidents -- Abdurrahman Wahid, an alumni of Al-Azhar University in Cairo, and Megawati Soekarnoputri, visited Egypt in 2001 and 2002 respectively.

The new ambassador also has other things in mind, including the completion of the construction of the embassy building in Menteng, and tracing the origins of his favorite Indonesian playwright.

"In Egypt, since my childhood, I followed the works of Ali Ahmed Bakathiar, an Indonesian who came to Egypt and settled down there. I would like to meet his family members," he added.

Taha, who plays tennis and badminton regularly, likes his job -- which involves frequent travel -- very much. But he said his two grown up children -- a daughter and son -- were not interested in joining the foreign service.

"My children are currently studying in Cairo and they are not joining me in Jakarta. I miss them. But it's okay. Now I have a new family of more than 200 million people," Taha said, referring to the Indonesian people.