IO, Jakarta – British Chamber of Commerce (BritCham) Indonesia celebrates its 40 years of trade & member support in Indonesia, in an event held at the Ballroom of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Sudirman, Central Jakarta (23/8).
Chairman of BritCham Indonesia Ainsley Mann shared opening remarks with the audience. “Tonight, we’ll be honoring a number of our Indonesian friends who have contributed a lot to Indonesia, but also contributed a lot to the relationship between the UK and Indonesia,” said Ainsley on the stage.
Ainsley also hope many young Indonesians would become involved in cooperation between two countries. “I’m trying to focus a lot on and why I say that is for the next forty years going forward the young Indonesians particularly those with ties to the UK are going to be crucial for the development of our relationships,” he said.
BritCham has 250 corporate members, with more than 800 nominees based in Indonesia, plus overseas membership. The BritCham‘s Parton is HSBC and sustaining sponsors are Shell, Premier Oil, British International School, Jardines, Permata Bank, Unilever, G4S, Royal Doulton, Standard Chartered Bank, Rolls-Royce, Prudential and BP.
Working cooperatively with the British Embassy and the British Council, whose senior representatives sit on the Board of Management, BritCham is committed to developing a service infrastructure that supports all stages of business development right from their inception in Indonesia.
On the same occasion, Ambassador of UK to Indonesia & Timor Leste, H.E. Owen Jenkins, also delivered a speech. “I am extremely grateful to BritCham for inviting me to make some remarks on what is really my first official public outing in a business setting and it’s wonderful to do that in a setting of the friends of Britain those who have worked with Britain over many years and those who perhaps know the UK better than anyone else in Indonesia, so thank you for all of your engagement with our country and I think there is a huge potential ahead of us.”
His Excellency the Ambassador also congratulated our nation on its 74th Anniversary of Independence and 70 years of diplomatic relations between Indonesia & UK. “It’s the 100th anniversary of UK export finance we’ve celebrated if that’s the right word by choosing Indonesia as the first place they would have a resident country director, and also increasing the limit for cover to 3 billion pounds which is quite a lot of money and I think can play a huge role in the infrastructure and other priorities of the president.
“I’ve been really struck since I got here quite how strong that relationship is, in all sectors, more than 400 thousand UK nationals come to Indonesia every year, more than I think more than any other country in Europe or North America,” he added.
He is absolutely confident that the British chamber will go from strength to strength over that period. “I am tremendously looking forward to my four years hopefully more in Indonesia partnering with BritCham and partnering with all of you as we take this fantastic relationship to new heights,” said Ambassador Jenkins.
The event was attended by several notable figures, such as Chairman of Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) Wimboh Santoso, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, Indonesian Ambassador to UK and Ireland H.E. Rizal Sukma, and Governor of West Java Ridwal Kamil.
In cooperation with British Council Indonesia, The British Embassy in Indonesia and Young
Indonesian Professionals Associations in the UK, they also honor top-notch Indonesians, by giving them discretionary awards in various categories, such as Special Diaspora Award, Special Alumnus Award, The Special Diversity and Inclusion Awards, Service to the Anglo-Indonesian Business Community. (Raihan)