VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Embassy of Indonesia in Astana, Kazakhstan is trying to strengthen cultural relations with Kazakhstan through a collaborative batik workshop between the two countries, which was held at the Astana Indonesian Cultural Center on Sunday (29/10).

In his opening statement, Indonesian Ambassador to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, Fadjroel Rachman, as stated in a press release received in Jakarta on Monday (30/10), said that the workshop is an opportunity to form relationships, share ideas, and strengthen cultural ties between the two countries. He also remarked that by working together, people of the two countries can create not only beautiful batik works, but also sustainable relationships that will enrich mutual understanding of each other's cultures. He added that the batik collaboration was to celebrate the creativity, friendship, and cultural strength that exists in both countries.

The batik workshop was held to commemorate 30 years of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Kazakhstan and to illustrate the close relationship between the two countries in the form of Indonesian cultural treasures of batik.

Attended by 25 participants, all of whom were Kazakhs, the workshop was held as a soft diplomacy effort by the Indonesian Embassy in Astana to shape a positive image of Indonesia in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.

They carried out batik-making activities, starting from drawing designs, coloring, and using a pen-like tool canting to the final process. All was explained in an interesting way by the teachers to all participants.

One of the participants, Beket Safiyanur, admitted that he enjoyed taking part in the batik workshop. Meanwhile, batik class teacher, Deby Rahmayanti is optimistic that batik can be a gate to Indonesian cultural diplomacy in Kazakhstan, because the art of batik is also part of people's lives in the country.