Ambassador to Colombia uses "five minutes diplomacy" to promote Indonesia

Indonesian Ambassador to Colombia Trie Edi Mulyani believes in using the "five minutes diplomacy" approach to promote Indonesia in Colombia.

Mulyani, popularly known as Ninik, stated during a press gathering with Indonesian journalists here on friday that she likened the five-minute diplomacy approach to a spontaneous cooking show that she hosts at the Indonesian Embassy, which is often attended by other Colombian officials.

"I really want to utilize every moment that I have in Columbia to promote Indonesia. 

Sometimes, I just show them how to cook Indomie (a brand of Indonesian instant noodles) that only requires five minutes of cooking time or invite the guests, including the Colombian journalists, to sample the Indonesian cuisine at the embassy," Ninik remarked.

For Ninik, the promotion need not be necessarily organized in a big and pricey manner, but should be held to give the Colombians an insight into Indonesia and eventually generate greater interest and curiosity among them to visit and explore Indonesia.

According to Ninik, during her one-year assignment in Colombia, she found that most of the Colombians had no idea about the Indonesian archipelago, except Bali Island.

"I even created a special business card bearing the Indonesian map on its rear side, so that every time people ask me about Indonesia I can simply show them the map," she added.

Indonesia has enjoyed diplomatic ties with Colombia for the past 25 years.

"This year, we will celebrate our 25th diplomatic anniversary, but, sadly, many Colombians still dont know much about Indonesia,".

Therefore, Ninik is committed to intensively promote Indonesia to the Colombian communities through various events, such as cultural and tourism exhibitions and organizing the Indonesian week that displays foods, crafts, and herb drinks.

Ambassador Ninik noted that the Indonesian Embassy in Colombia has planned a comprehensive schedule of the events for the current year, some of which were included in the agenda of the Joint Commission Assembly of Indonesia and Columbia held in december, last year, such as cooperation in the areas of antidrugs and narcotics prevention, women and children protection, and cultural exchange.

Despite the unawareness among many Colombians about Indonesia, Indonesia and Columbia trade has shown a positive trend in the past five years, with an average growth of 15 percent and trade value in december 2.012 reaching US$190.1 million or a 10.92 percent increase, which is higher than the total trade recorded in 2.011, which reached US$171.4 million.

Since 2.013, Trie Edi Mulyani has been appointed as the Indonesian Ambassador to Colombia and prior to her work in Bogotá, she was the Indonesian Consular General in New York since 2.007.