VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian Ambassador to Finland and Estonia, Ratu Silvy Gayatri, encourages the promotion of Indonesia to the Finnish people. According to her, the Indonesian people already know Finland as the happiest country, but the Finnish people don't fully know about Indonesia.

Ratu Silvy Gayatri conveyed this on the sidelines of the 2024 Indonesia and Finland Festival in Lasipalatsin Aukio, Helsinki. This annual activity was organized by the Indonesian Embassy in Helsinki with the support of the Indonesian diaspora community on 15 and 16 June 2024.

The festival, which was attended by nearly 5,000 visitors over two days, was held to introduce the diversity of Indonesian culture to people in the Nordic countries, especially Finland. Ambassador Silvy stated the mission is important to carry out, especially because this year Indonesia and Finland are celebrating 70 years of diplomatic relations.

The 2024 Indonesian and Finnish Festival was even more special thanks to the presence of a delegation from the Jakarta Culture Service and representatives of the North Kalimantan Provincial Government, East Kutai Regency Government, East Kalimantan, Minahasa Regency, and the Tomohon City Government, North Sulawesi.

Apart from regional government representatives, this festival was also supported by a number of representatives of some Indonesian-related businesses, including rattan furniture companies and Indonesian fashion textile products.

As an event that is a symbol of Indonesia-Finland collaboration, the 2024 Indonesia and Finland Festival also featured representatives of local musicians. They performed typical Finnish folk songs accompanied by traditional instruments such as the kantele, acoustic guitar, and flute.

Finland is one of Indonesia's important trading partners in the Northern European region. The trade value between Indonesia and Finland in the first quarter of 2024 shows an increase of up to 40 percent compared to the same period last year, making this figure already exceed the pre-pandemic trading level.