New FM orders diplomats to make 'blusukan' overseas

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Wednesday October 29 2014


Newly appointed Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said on Wednesday that Indonesian diplomats all over the world must emulate President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's typical approach known as blusukan (impromptu visits) in the countries where they are posted as part of efforts to support Jokowi's economic diplomacy vision.

Blusukan are one of Jokowi's trademarks; he has carried them out for years on a regular basis, particularly since serving as the mayor of Surakarta in Central Java.

Retno said that diplomats should especially adopt Jokowi's blusukan habit when it came to promoting Indonesian products.

"To support the President's vision on economic diplomacy, diplomats need to realign their mindsets and be more active. We will soon make detailed guidelines for all ambassadors on how to improve on economic diplomacy," Retno said during a press conference at her office in Central Jakarta on Wednesday.

Blusukan for diplomats, she said, would be crucial in identifying problems and finding solutions to address those issues.

"For example, if an ambassador finds statistics showing that the number of tourists going to Indonesia from the country where he or she is posted is declining, the ambassador must be able to immediately make a report on the factors behind the decline as well as efforts that have been made and should be made in the future [to increase the number of travelers to Indonesia]," Retno said.

In such cases, she added, ambassadors could carry out blusukan by visiting tour operators, asking them if they still offered tourism packages to Indonesia and making suggestions on possible improvements that could be made.



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