Hon. Vicente J. Carlos, Chairman of FICAC East Asia Regional Committee, making his closing remarks at the 3rd FICAC East Asia Regional Consular Conference.
What an exciting and fruitful day we had. We were treated to hear fantastic speakers in this Conference, starting with the inspiring address of our President, Hon. Arnold Foote, as ably read by our Secretary-General, Hon. Aykut Eken. We pray for the speedy recovery of our dear President Arnold Foote and Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.

H. E. Pakde dr. Sukarwo, the Honourable Governor of East Java, welcomed us to Surabaya and explained in his speech why it was a correct decision to hold the 3^rd Regional Conference here in East Java.

The Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, H. E. Wardana, officially welcomed the delegates to Indonesia, on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He stated that “Asia to the World” was indeed an appropriate theme as the centre of gravity has shifted to Asia.

We then had our keynote speaker, the wellrespected Dr. Supachai Panichpakdi, former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, who discussed issues relevant to trade, such as the need of balance between imports and exports. He delved into the negative impact of climate change, such as the major disasters that we are now witnessing. It was his feeling that most meetings of the global leaders were mere photo sessions, i.e. APEC, etc.

And Mr. Tony Fernandes, the Group CEO of the successful budget carrier, Air Asia, showed us what Asia is to the world.

We all enjoyed listening to the entertaining and thought-provoking speech of Hon. Herman Kartajaya, as he spoke on the topic of “Honorary Consuls: Beyond the Traditions.” He discussed the value of women and explained why honorary consuls are better diplomats than their career counterparts.

Lastly, we heard Hon. K. L. Ganju update us on the consular privileges and immunities, as laid out in the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

Yes, indeed, it was a fruitful Conference.

As Chairman of the Regional East Asia Committee, I would like to thank all of them for sharing some of their precious time with us.

Allow me to commend and thank the Association of Honorary Consuls of Indonesia, led by Hon. Soy Pardede, for hosting and organising this conference.

Thank you to the hard-working organising committee led by Hon. J. R. Radjimin for inviting us to the beautiful city of Surabaya.

Thank you for showing up in full force as the host organisation of this very successful conference.

Thanks for your warm hospitality, especially Hon. Consul Djamal Ghozi Basmeleh and Madam Azza Dina Djamal for hosting the welcome reception at their elegant and historic De Soematra Function House last night.

Thank you for allowing us to renew old friendships and discover new ones.

Thank you for the many ideas and advocacies that we shared for the benefit of our Federation and for the upliftment of our roles as consuls.

Thank you for showing us how Asia is becoming a leader to the world.

And to our colleagues from the other corps and associations in our region, and to those who joined us here from all over the world, especially Secretary General Aykut Eken, who ably represented our dear President Arnold Foote and the members of the FICAC Board, we say thank you for being a part of this memorable and successful event.

May I take this opportunity to express, on behalf of my countrymen, our deepest gratitude for your kind words, your expressions of sympathy and support, as well as your much-needed aid, as our country has experienced the worst disaster in its history.

As we look forward to the Gala Dinner tonight, I invite all of you to meet again at FICAC’s biggest triennial event, the FICAC World Congress of Consuls, which will be held in Bali, Indonesia in November of 2015.

Thank you and cheers to all!
Terima kasih!