Bridging the Archipelago and the Indus: A Tale of Unlikely Tourism Twinship Between Indonesia and Pakistan

Bridging the Archipelago and the Indus: A Tale of Unlikely Tourism Twinship Between Indonesia and Pakistan
Signing of cooperation between ICE and Asita. (Dok International Creatives Exchange)

PERKUMPULAN International Creatives Exchange (ICE) entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreement with the oldest tourism association in Indonesia, namely the Association of the Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies ((Asita) at Al Barkat Palace, South Jakarta, Saturday, (5/ 10).

In the memorandum of understanding, there were 11 main points agreed upon with the main aim of increasing tourism for two friendly countries, namely Indonesia and Pakistan.

The General Chairperson of ICE, Atta Ul Karim, said that this collaboration was a satisfaction for him, especially as he was a person who was born and raised in Pakistan.

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“I was born in Pakistan, but grew up and was successful in Indonesia, that’s why I have to thank these two countries. One way is to continue trying various ways to increase tourism in the two countries, Pakistan and Indonesia,” said Atta, quoted from the statement. received on Sunday (6/10).

Asita, continued Atta, is the right partner in realizing increased tourism between Indonesia and Pakistan. Because apart from being an association that has been established since 1971, Asita is an association that already has many branches and partners.

Meanwhile, President Asita, Rusmiati, was also proud and happy with the cooperation between the two parties. Because according to him, Pakistan is a country that has not been well explored in the world of tourism, even though its potential is extraordinary.

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Apart from that, there is a lot of halal tourism in Indonesia, so there is no significant difference between Pakistan and Indonesia.

“Many countries have collaborated with Asita, but Pakistan doesn’t exist at all. Even though its natural beauty is extraordinary, it is not inferior to Switzerland or New Zealand. Pakistan also has similarities with Indonesia as the world’s two largest Muslim countries, so it’s a delicious package once for sale,” explained Rusmiati.

On this occasion, present as witnesses were Siti Nur Azizah, daughter of Vice President KH Ma’ruf Amin, and also Rahmat Hindiarta Kusuma as Temporary Chargé d’Affaires of the Indonesian Embassy in Islamabad who was visiting Indonesia in the context of economic diplomacy activities in Jakarta and Bali.

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Siti felt happy about this collaboration. Because for him, Pakistan is an interesting country. He hopes that this cooperative understanding can be useful for many people.

“Hopefully this can be a door to building the glory of relations between Indonesia and Pakistan, which have long been friendly,” he said while referring to plans for the 75th Anniversary of Indonesia-Pakistan Diplomatic Relations next year.

In line with Siti Nur Azizah, Rahmat Hindiarta Kusuma, who had just arrived from Pakistan on the same day, also fully supported this understanding.

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“As an Indonesian I enjoy the extraordinary natural beauty of Pakistan. The culture is also very unique. The people are very friendly, especially if they know we are from Indonesia. Hopefully this can open the door to direct flights between Indonesia and Pakistan. There will be many multiple positive impacts,” said Rahmat.

As is known, there are currently no direct flights serving both countries. This is one of the obstacles to increasing tourists from Pakistan to Indonesia or vice versa.

“With the understanding between ICE and Asita, we want to see evidence of an increase in the number of tourism visits in these two countries, so that airlines will also look at opening direct flights,” concluded Rahmat. (J-3)

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