New envoy admires RI's democracy

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.