"Sports that originated from Indonesia, such as pencak silat, can be a medium of culture promotion as well as diplomacy," he said.
He made the remarks during a meeting with the Indonesian Ambassador to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, M. Fadjroel Rachman, according to information posted on the ministry's website on Thursday.
At the meeting, Hidayat and Rachman discussed sports diplomacy initiatives to strengthen relations between Indonesia and Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.
Hidayat lauded the steps taken by Ambassador Rachman to strengthen the relations between the countries through sports.
According to Hidayat, sports diplomacy is an effective means to strengthen relations between countries. Therefore, he said he believes that Indonesia can make pencak silat a medium for sports diplomacy.
"Sports diplomacy is one of the best ways to strengthen cross-country relationships, and we are keen to establish more programs and opportunities," he said.
Hidayat added that he felt proud after learning of the Kazakh people's interest in pencak silat.
He said he is optimistic that by establishing cooperation with Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, Indonesian sports can become more popular in the two countries. At the same time, Indonesia can learn about the leading sports in the two Central Asian countries.
Meanwhile, Ambassador Rachman expressed gratitude for the ministry's support in strengthening the development of Indonesian sports by exploring collaboration with Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.
He also reported developments related to the signing of a memorandum of understanding in the field of sports between Indonesia and Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.
Kazakhstan has around 4,000 pencak silat practitioners across 17 provinces in that country.
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Translator: Aloysius L, Kenzu
Editor: Anton Santoso
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