Mr. Ade Sukendar conveyed a National Day Reception at Hotel Trident, Nariman Point, Mumbai on Wednesday, 28th August 2019 to commemorate the 74th Anniversary of Independence of the Republic of Indonesia.

The event was attended by a large gathering of over 300 people. The attendees included Senior officials of

Government of India and Government of Maharashtra. Members of diplomatic corps; Trade and Business Associations, business communities, travel and tourism industry, media personnel; prominent Indian nationals

along with Indonesian nationals residing under the jurisdiction of the mission.

The Chief Guest of event was Mr. Nand Kumar, Principal Secretary and Chief of Protocol of the Government of

Maharashtra. In his remarks Mr. Ade Sukendar, Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia in Mumbai

emphasized India’s support during Indonesia’s struggle for independence, which was proclaimed on August 17th

, 1945 and also briefed about the current relations of two countries such as 2019 is very special year since it

marks milestone with India and Indonesia commemorating their seventy years of diplomatic relations, which has already entered its best period. In very recent India and Indonesia has set anambitious $50 b target for bilateral trade over the next six years as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joko Widodo discussed ways to deepen cooperation in a number of key areas including economy, defence and maritime security. The two leaders recently meet in Osaka, Japan for the G20 Summit and discussed ways to boost bilateral ties and enhance cooperation in trade and investment.

The Chief Guest Mr. Nand Kumar spoked about the spirit of friendship between Indonesia and India and about strong will of both countries to increase and develop cooperation.Indonesian dancers presented two traditional dances named Tari Piring Dance – or Plate Dance is the art of dance held by the Minangkabau tribe in West Sumatra. This dance reflects the life of traditional Minangkabau people at the time of working in the rice-field. The dance expresses happiness of the farmers as well as their gratitude to God for the very successful harvest. While Bajidor Kahot Dance – is a newly created dance from West Java. The movements are originated from the Jaipongan Dance mixed with Balinese culture. The dancers dances dynamically with their colourful fans swinging it and opening it with a sound that corresponds to the music.

Also performed on occasion was Indonesia Menari or Indonesia Dance is a collective dance movement. It aims

to introduce people to traditional Indonesian dances, to encourage more people, especially those of the young

generation to learn traditional dances of Indonesia and to be proud of Indonesian culture.

The Indonesian Consul General, Mr. Ade Sukendar held the tradition of cutting the Nasi Tumpeng which was

then presented to Chief Guest Mr. Nand Kumar, Principal Secretary and Chief of Protocol of Government of

Maharashtra. The guests enjoyed the Indonesian cuisine such as satay, nasi goreng followed by other cuisines.

The Indonesian National day reception not only had delicacies of cuisines served to the invitees but also

showcased the diverse of Indonesian cultural performance such as Traditional Musical instrument Angklung played by Indonesian artists with the aim to promote Indonesian Art and Culture.The reception also had dance performance of Gemu-fa-mi-re with invitees requested to join in the performance, with invitees enthusiastically participating.With India and Indonesia commemorating 70 years of Diplomatic Relations in 2019 a photo exhibition chronicling the landmark events in India-Indonesia ties was put on display at the reception venue.

Indonesian Consulate General, Mumbai also promoted the forthcoming major event Trade Expo Indonesia 2019

going to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia for the period of October 16-20, 2019. All this series of events being

promoted by Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia, Mumbai and are expected to tap the vast economic and cultural potentials between the two friendly countries.