"Cape Town has a unique and special relationship with Indonesia," Indonesian Consul General in Cape Town Tudiono noted in a statement on Wednesday.
The collaboration is driven by the unique relations between both nations, with more than 330 thousand Cape Malay citizens in Cape Town, and most of them being descendants of Indonesian ulama exiled by the Dutch colonialists.
Among the ancestors of the Cape Malay people was the great cleric Sheikh Yusuf Al Makassari who was exiled to the Cape of Good Hope and arrived with his 49 disciples in June 1693 because he helped Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa to fight the invaders.
With this relationship, the Indonesian Consul General considers the importance of intensifying relations with Indonesia, including through sister province cooperation, with facilities to strengthen relations.
East Java Acting Governor, Adhy Karyono, said his side would also deliver local musical instruments, such as gamelan, to the Indonesian Consulate General in Cape Town to promote arts and culture as well as serve as a means of gamelan training for Indonesian citizens and the local community.
Moreover, the collaboration will take place in the investment sector, with support from the Indonesian Consul General to facilitate communication between the Albany Power Generation (APG) in Cape Town and the East Java government regarding investment for the Probolinggo port infrastructure.
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The East Java provincial government is also interested in the Indonesian Consul General's proposal to encourage entrepreneurs to support the establishment of a Film Studio in East Java.
This effort was welcomed by the East Java Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) by sending representatives of MSME entrepreneurs to the IFM event and supporting the mission of making a commercial film set in Indonesia-South Africa by inviting the entrepreneurs to join in the film production.
The film, produced by Wendra Lingga Tan, a producer from the Summerland Production House, and director Robby Ertanto, tells the tale of romance between a pair of Syah Kuala University students who got separated due to the Aceh tsunami tragedy.
