Indonesian Embassy on Wednesday organised a function on the eve of 66th Independence Day of Indonesia here at a local hotel. Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan was chief guest. Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia Ishak Latuconsina and Butar Latuconsin received the guests. A large number of people including politicians, diplomats attended the function.
The minister congratulated the Ambassador on the auspicious day after the official programme was started with the playing of national anthems of both the countries. A hand out issued here stated that the Indonesia is spread out over 3000 km and 17,504 islands and is the 4th most populous country in the world and third largest democracy, with the population of 237 millions.
Indonesia is also the largest and most populous country in Southeast Asia and has the world's largest Muslim population as there are more Muslims in Indonesia than the entire Middle East. As a member of the G20, Indonesia is a strong economy in a dynamic Asia and its GDP amounts to $700 billion. In 2010, Indonesian economy grew at 6.1 percent despite the global financial crisis.
Indonesia's exports in 2010 reached a total value of US $150 billion, the highest figure ever achieved in the country's foreign trade. National industrial growth doubled to 5.1 percent from 2.6 percent the year before, fuelled by growing investment, exports and public consumption.