Cuba–Indonesia relations
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Cuba–Indonesia relations refers to the bilateral relations of Cuba and Republic of Indonesia. During the administration of Indonesia's first president Sukarno in 1960s, Indonesia and Cuba enjoyed exceptionally close relationship.[1] The relations between two nations mostly focussed on sports and health.[2] Cuba has an embassy in Jakarta, while Indonesia has an embassy in Havana that also accredited to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and the Republic of Jamaica. Both nations are full members of the Non-Aligned Movement and partners in Group of 77 and Forum of East Asia-Latin America Cooperation.
History
The diplomatic relations between two countries were officially established in 22 January 1960 during the historical visit of Indonesian first president Sukarno to the Cuban capital Havana.[2] During this visit Sukarno paid a courtesy call to Cuban President Fidel Castro and also Che Guevara, in this occasion Sukarno presented Castro a keris, Indonesian traditional dagger as a token of friendship. During this period, the relations between the leaders of both countries are warm and exceptionally close,[1] mainly because they shared revolutionary leftist aspirations against imperialism, Sukarno did shared close relationships with numbers of world's socialist leaders.
Indonesian embassy in Havana was officially opened in 14 August 1963. However due to austerity reasons, Indonesia closed its Havana embassy on October 1971 and acredited its foreign affairs with Cuba to its embassy in Mexico City. In December 1995, Indonesian embassy in Havana was reopened.[3]
In 11–14 April 2000, Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid visited Havana to attend G-77 Summit of developing countries. Few hours before Wahid's departure from Havana to Tokyo, Fidel Castro paid a surprise unscheduled courtesy call to Wahid in Indonesian president's room at the Melia Hotel. Previously a meeting has been arranged to take place after Wahid's arrival, however it was canceled. During this informal meeting, Abdurrahman suggested Castro that one of the summit attendants promote the results of the international event to the Northern countries, and proposed Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad to do the job.[4]
Cooperations
Indonesia and Cuba mainly focussed on sports and health sectors in their bilateral relations and cooperations. For example Indonesia has sent their boxers, volleyball players and gymnasts to be trained in Cuba. On the other hand there are numbers of Cuban athletes that made their career in Indonesian sports clubs, especially in volleyball. In December 2006 the health authority of both nations agreed on cooperation in developing new vaccines for dengue fever and malaria.[2]
Trade
Bilateral trade between Indonesia and Cuba reached US$12.79 million in 2008,[2] and reach its peak in 2011 with US$15.68 million trade value. Bilateral trade until October 2012 has reached US$12.40 million, with Indonesian export US$11.15 million and import US$1.24 million made the trade heavily in favour to Indonesia with US$9.91 million surplus. Indonesia mainly sells textiles, shoes and footwear, ceramics, furnitures and electronics to Cuba, while buys Cuban cigars and pharmaceuticals, especially vaccines.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ramadhian Fadillah (Wed, 13 June 2012 08:05:00). "Soekarno soal cerutu Kuba, Che dan Castro" (in Indonesian). Merdeka.com. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Anne Tang (2010-01-22). "Indonesia, Cuba celebrate 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties". Xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Profil Negara dan Kerjasama – Kuba" (in Indonesian). Ministry Foreign Affairs of Republis of Indonesia. November 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
- ↑ "Castro pays surprise visit to Gus Dur". The Jakarta Post. Sun, April 16, 2000, 7:37 AM. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
External links
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