JABAR EKSPRES – Indonesian Ambassador to Japan Heri Akhmadi said that he interpreted the visit of Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako on June 17-23 as a signal of strengthening and expanding cooperation between the two countries in various fields.
“Indonesia is the first country in the Japanese Emperor’s state visit abroad. Japan sees Indonesia’s high posture among other countries. Japan also sees clear evidence of Indonesia’s success in the G20 and chairmanship of ASEAN. This includes Indonesia’s presence at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima,” Heri said in Tokyo on Saturday.
He also interpreted the visit of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako as a heart-to-heart and one-heart relationship, as the theme of 65 years of Indonesia-Japan relations.
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According to him, Emperor Naruhito’s visit to various places in Indonesia must be able to be translated as a prospect for strengthening cooperation between the two countries, especially in the water sector. This is in line with Indonesia’s promotion as the host of the World Water Forum in 2024.
“Emperor Naruhito has a very big concern regarding water issues. He was the third honorary president of The World Water Forum in 2003. In Jakarta, the Emperor visited the Pluit Water Gate, then in Yogyakarta he visited the Sabo Dam. The Sabo Dam was designed in collaboration with Japan, including the Pluit Sluice. I am promoting this visit as Indonesia plans to host the World Water Forum,” he said.
Not only water issues, according to him, the visit to the MRT depot in Lebak Bulus also received a good impression from the Japanese Emperor who not only saw the technical operations of the MRT but also the cleanliness and orderly management factors in customer service.
“MRT is an iconic project for Jakarta. This is an extraordinary cooperation between Indonesia and Japan. At Bogor Palace, I reported to President Joko Widodo that the Emperor’s visit at the MRT Depot was very impressive,” he said.
