Ho Chi Minh City’s vibrancy reflects Southeast Asian strength: Indonesian consul general

Throughout his tenure, Agustaviano and his staff worked tirelessly to further strengthen the cooperation ties between the two countries, as well as between Ho Chi Minh City and Indonesia metropolitans.

Right before his term ended, he sat down with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper and reflected on his memories in Ho Chi Minh City.

Strength of togetherness

“Yes, I'm counting my days. It's been three years and seven months, and April is my last month. I do have these mixed emotions, mixed feelings. I feel gracious. I've been here with my family, and I also feel blessed to be surrounded by the warmth of Vietnamese friends," Agustaviano opened the interview.

In his memory, when he came to Ho Chi Minh City at the beginning of his tenure, which was also his first visit to the city, he could not imagine how vibrant the city was.

The vibrancy of the city, along with its youthful energy and many attractive events, impressed him greatly.

The Indonesian consul general stressed, “The vibrancy of Ho Chi Minh City reflects how strong our region is. Southeast Asia is a vibrant and promising region and this city, I believe, can be a good reflection. Given the city’s strong upward trajectory, I’m confident its growth will continue."

Agustaviano came to Ho Chi Minh City at the heights of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, he remembered clearly how everyone had to attend hybrid events, wore masks, and could not sit close to each other.

His tenure coincided with Indonesia’s ASEAN chairmanship year of 2023. It was during this year that the Indonesian Consulate General hosted the activities he would remember most. 

Among them was the ASEAN Fun Walk, a community walking event that took place on Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in August 2023.

“The event drew close to 1,000 people. My team and I designed the T-shirts for this event together. We wanted to make the T-shirts as good as possible to attract people, and we ordered 800 T-shirts," the diplomat recalled.

“But then people wanted more. Just a few days before the event, we had to produce more T-shirts to accommodate all the participants for this ASEAN Fun Walk."

For Agustaviano, his proudest achievement in Ho Chi Minh City was joining the Indonesian Consulate General in making every effort to foster the most favorable conditions for the growth of Indonesia-Vietnam relations, particularly with Ho Chi Minh City.

“It's the power of togetherness, I feel that. The power of togetherness among everybody who wants to achieve the objective, the vision together," he said.

“If we look back into history, Indonesia and Vietnam have a very long relationship. Some 500 or 600 years ago, there were already interactions between people of the two countries. So, the power of togetherness as we see today surely can strengthen this relationship.

“And looking at the founding fathers of the two nations, President Ho Chi Minh and President Sukarno both upheld the vision of becoming a free, independent, and strong nation. I believe that is also the power of togetherness.

“I see that power every day. I have visitors from Indonesia from the business sector or universities and vice versa. This relationship is clearly built on genuine friendship, with the aim of growing and prospering together."

Ho Chi Minh City’s economic engines set to become more dynamic

During Vietnamese Party General Secretary To Lam’s official visit to Jakarta in March, Vietnam and Indonesia elevated bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

According to Agustaviano, this move opened a new avenue for the two countries to not only strengthen but also broaden the areas of cooperation.

“I believe this is the shared vision by Indonesia and VietNam. Both countries will celebrate its centennial independence in 2045. That's the time when both countries aspire to become advanced and developed countries," he emphasized.

“If we continue with this collaboration, we can become the powerhouse for the region. Indonesia and Vietnam working together among other ASEAN countries can not only contribute to the region but also to the world."

Down that path, Ho Chi Minh City can continue to open its collaboration with other vibrant cities throughout Indonesia, namely the Greater Jakarta area, as the two cities share a lot of similar strengths and challenges. 

He singled out digital transformation as a bright spot for collaboration between the two cities.

According to Agustaviano, this potential will further expand once Ho Chi Minh City completes its merger, becoming an even more dynamic economic driver. 

The post-merger Ho Chi Minh City shares many similarities with the Greater Jakarta model, paving the way for new opportunities to sustain urban cooperation.

Looking forward, Agustaviano stated he would advise his successor to enjoy working in the vibrant and dynamic environment of Ho Chi Minh City and take all the opportunities to join the many events and take in the feeling of the city's people.