Doha. Indonesia and Qatar share a long-standing cooperation across many fields, according to a diplomat.

President Prabowo Subianto recently flew to Qatar for a state visit. Prior to his arrival, Indonesian Ambassador to Qatar Ridwan Hassan gave an overview of how the bilateral cooperation had been over the past years. Ridwan said that economic ties had been going strong with Qatar already making some investments in the Southeast Asian country. 

The Qatar-based firm Ooredoo holds shares in the Indonesian telecommunication firm Indosat.

"Qatar has also invested in Indonesia. We [Indonesia] are exporting many products to Qatar," Ridwan told reporters in Doha prior to Prabowo's arrival.

Official figures showed that Indonesia-Qatar trade had topped $1.3 billion last year. Indonesia's exports to Qatar reached around $650.4 million in value. Qatar also invested $8.4 million in Indonesia throughout 2024, making it the 54th largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) that year. Recently, Indonesia secured an investment pledge from Qatar to back Indonesia's ambitious affordable housing program. 

Qatar currently hosts 25,000 Indonesians, many of whom work in the oil and gas, hospitality, and health sectors.

"Some of our youth study in Qatar for their master's and doctoral degrees," Ridwan said.

In the travel industry, the flag carrier Qatar Airways currently offers three daily flights to Jakarta. Garuda Indonesia, too, provides services with round trips from Doha to Jakarta, thus bolstering tourism for both sides.

"Qatar's population stands at between 2.8 million and 3 million people. However, Qataris only make up 15 percent of that population, while the rest are foreigners such as Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, and even Indonesians," Ridwan said.

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