Ambassador Inaugurates Indonesian SUpermarket in Qatar

Jakarta, (Antara) - Indonesian Ambassador to Qatar Muhammad Basri Sidehabi and Deputy of Institutional Affairs, Cooperatives and SME Ministry, Meliadi Sembiring inaugurated the Indonesian Citizens Cooperative in Qatar (KWIQ) Supermarket in Messaid, 40 kilometers from Qatar's capital, Doha.

Minister Counselor at the Indonesian Embassy in Doha Boy Dharmawan noted in a statement received by Antara here on Monday that the inauguration of the supermarket is part of the efforts to develop the KWIQ.

KWIQ's secretary Wahju Adji said the supermarket is supported by the Indonesian Business Association in Qatar, which helps to integrate the Indonesian diaspora community and business players in Qatar.

According to KWIQ's Chairman Kartini Sarsilaningsih, the supermarket business in Qatar is promising, especially at a time when the country is currently seeking economic diversification following a diplomatic crisis with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

"This crisis is a blessing in disguise for the supermarket to sell Indonesian products in Qatar, as the country is being isolated by other GCC neighboring countries," Sarsilaningsih pointed out.

Initially, the KWIQ will serve as a distributor for Indonesian products in Qatar while meeting the demands of the Indonesian and Asian diaspora living in Messaid City.

"The high demand of Indonesian people in Messaid and Wakrah makes the supermarket business promising, and hence, we will open branches in other cities," Sarsilaningsih, who has been living in Qatar since 2003, noted.

Meanwhile, KWIQ's manager Mulyawan noted that the KWIQ will be a cooperative development model for Indonesian diaspora communities.

"This cooperative is expected to become global," he affirmed.

Ambassador Sidehabi welcomed the inauguration of the Indonesian supermarket as a concrete manifestation of the directives given by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs A.M. Fachir at a coordination meeting among the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, Indonesian Ambassadors in GCC, and Indonesian stakeholders in Doha in May 2017.

The ambassador expressed hope that the KWIQ would help to improve economic diplomacy between Indonesia and Qatar.(*)