VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian Ambassador to New Zealand, Tantowi Yahya has officially become the first Indonesian Government representative to the Cook Islands.  The inauguration was marked by the submission of a credential from President Joko Widodo to the Deputy Queen of England in the Cook Islands, Sir Tom Marsters, KBE which was held virtually at the Cook Islands High Commission Office in Wellington, New Zealand on Friday (5/3). Ambassador Tantowi handed over the credential letter at a simple ceremony to Sir Tom Marsters represented by the Cook Islands High Commissioner, Elizabeth Wright-Koteka.  On this occasion, Ambassador Tantowi conveyed warm greetings from President Joko Widodo to Sir Tom Marsters.

Ambassador Tantowi in his remarks before high-ranking officials of Cook Islands, who attended the event stated that by the submission of the credential letter, it is hoped that the relationship between Indonesia and the Cook Islands will be further strengthened, particularly cooperation in the trade, tourism, social and cultural sectors.  The Indonesian government is ready to provide development assistance for the Cook Islands.  Besides diplomatic relations, the Indonesian government will keep strengthening people-to-people contacts. Ambassador Tantowi reminded that Indonesia has the largest Melanesian and Polynesian people in the world, who have the same backgrounds as the Cook Islands population.

Moreover, the Indonesian government will also ensure that the Indonesian people in the Cook Islands will contribute in a bid to foster relations of both countries. The Cook Islands is an island nation in the South Pacific region with a population of about 17 thousand people.  The tourism sector is the mainstay of the country's income in which the number of tourists in a year can be 10 times of the population of the Cook Islands.  About 200 Indonesian citizens live in the Cook Islands and most of them work in the tourism sector.