The Indonesian ambassador serenades the audience with his saxophone. CLICK HERE for a video collage of scenes from the evening.

The Indonesian-American Chamber of Commerce hosted a gala in downtown Atlanta’s Fulton County Atrium Aug. 23 to celebrate the country’s 63rd year of independence and to promote its culture and business opportunities.

Indonesian Ambassador to the U.S. Sujadnan Parnohadiningrat was the keynote speaker at the festive event, which included martial arts performances as well as traditional Indonesian cuisine and dances and a special saxophone serenade by the ambassador.

Indonesia has a population of 220 million, the fourth largest in the world.  The political system has undergone major reforms since 1998, and Mr. Parnohadiningrat said the rise of a vibrant democracy has contributed to economic stability.

Indonesian voters cast some 170 million votes in the 2004 presidential and vice presidential elections, giving Indonesia the distinction of holding the largest single day of elections in the world, he said.

By comparison, the U.S. has about 80 million more people than the Southeast Asian nation, but about 50 million less votes were cast during the 2004 elections here.

After nearly a decade of crisis, Mr. Parnohadiningrat said the Indonesian economy is beginning to show signs of upward stability.

“Despite the slowdown and uncertainty in global economy, Indonesia’s economy is growing at an impressive rate,” he said, noting that the country tallied better than 6 percent gross domestic product growth in 2007.

Foreign direct investment has skyrocketed from $34.7 billion in 2007 to $60 billion in the first seven months of 2008.  Bilateral trade between the two countries grew 12 percent year over year to $80.5 billion in 2007, making Indonesia the U.S.’s 29th largest trading partner.

Aside from economic and political interests, Mr. Parnohadiningrat said the two countries could collaborate in the global war against terrorism, which struck Indonesia in the form of a 2002 bombing that claimed more than 200 lives. 

“The U.S. has been fighting against this menace since 2001.  We started in 2002, and we work hand in hand in this particular area,” he said.

Since that time, the U.S. government has maintained a travel advisory for Indonesia.

Mr. Parnohadiningrat said that the U.S. lifted the warning in May of this year, and the ambassador hopes to welcome more American tourists to Indonesia.

Wei Siong Tan, the chamber’s president and the founder of the Indonesian Community Heritage Foundation, said he hoped the “Taste of Indonesia” event would whet Atlantans’ appetite for his native country.

Mr. Tan was born in a small town on the island of Sumatra, one of the largest and most heavily populated of Indonesia’s 6,000 inhabited islands.

He came to study in Atlanta in 1980 having never traveled abroad.  With a little help from a mentor to get him through a financial crisis, he went on to earn his doctoral degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology.  He is now president of AccuSentry Inc., an Atlanta-based provider of equipment that monitors the performance of machinery. 

In his remarks, he said that better relations between the two countries will create more opportunities for citizens in both, and he challenged gala attendees to work toward that goal.

“Within your circle of influence, within your means, there is someone you can help to create a better future,” he said.

This year's event marked the chamber's first Indonesian gala in Atlanta.