Jakarta (Antara Bali) - India and Indonesia will further foster bilateral cooperation in the cultural field through the "Festival of India in Indonesia 2015" organized by the Indian Embassy here from January 26 to May 2015.
"This is a new phase of cooperation between the two countries. We hope this will further strengthen Indonesia-India bilateral relations which have been established since long ago," Indian Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor Leste Gurjit Singh said here on Wednesday.
The Indian envoy made the remarks in his address when opening the event, themed the 'Indian Friend'.
He said that through the festival, India is willing to introduce the diversity of its culture to Indonesians so that both peoples will get to know further with each other.
Director General for Information and Public Diplomacy of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry Esti Andayani said meanwhile that the festival will have positive impact on Indonesia.
"A cultural activity such as the 'Indian Friend' will have positive impact on boosting Indian and Indonesian trade. After all, this event is not only held in Jakarta but also in 16 other regions," she said.
The festival will be held in 17 places, namely Jakarta, Bali, Yogyakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Surakarta, Semarang, Bogor, Serang, Purwakarta, Makasar, Medan, Padang, Banda Aceh, Samarinda, Balikpapan, and Palembang.
The festival will present different Indonesian cultural arts such as folk dances, drama, puppet shadow, music, Bollywood films and documentary films.
India has offered the government of Indonesia a soft loan of US$500 million to support the development of power infrastructure in the country.
The offer for the loan was mentioned by Ambassador Gurjit Singh during his meeting with Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla on Monday.
According to a press release received from the Indian Embassy in Jakarta here on Monday, Ambassador Singh apprised the vice president of the offer of a soft loan of US$500 million from the government of India to Indonesia to support its power infrastructure. The vice president welcomed it, stating that necessary steps would be taken to identify appropriate projects.
During the meeting on Monday, Ambassador Singh and Vice President Kalla also exchanged views on historical links and commonalities in culture, socio-economic conditions and the evolution of developmental paths of the two countries.
The Indian ambassador also reiterated the contribution of companies from the nation to the economic development of Indonesia through improvements in infrastructure, manufacturing, and mining, and by the creation of employment opportunities.
In addition, bilateral trade and investments between the countries amounted to US$20 billion and US$15 billion, respectively, in 2014.
Indonesia and India have also agreed to intensify economic cooperation by utilizing the improvements in investment procedures being introduced, the speedy redressal of disputes, the strengthening of business-to-business interactions, participation of companies in trade fairs, etc.
The two countries also agreed to review and implement various memoranda of understanding signed between both sides. (WDY)
