Indonesian Consul General Visits Effingham County

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Published on December 7 2017 4:00 pm
Last Updated on December 7 2017 4:03 pm
Written by Greg Sapp

(ALLIANCE DIRECTOR CRAIG NIELSON PRESENTS INDONESIAN CONSUL GENERAL ROSMALAWATI CHALID WITH A REMEMBRANCE OF EFFINGHAM COUNTY AT THE CONCLUSION OF A LUNCHEON RECEPTION THURSDAY)

The Consul General of Indonesia for the Midwestern United States was a visitor to Effingham County on Thursday.

Rosmalawati Chalid was here as a guest of the Effingham Regional Growth Alliance. She serves as Indonesia's Consul General for a 13-state area and is headquartered in Chicago.

Chalid had the opportunity to tour 3Z Printing, Siemer Milling and Versatech and said she was pleased with what she saw. At a reception over the noon hour, Chalid said the entrepreneurial spirit of the county impressed her, as well as the opportunities offered to business and industry to grow.

That desire to grow meshes well with Indonesia, which is a nation in a growth mode. Chalid said there are 255 million people in the nation, and 50% of the population is under 30 years of age. Indonesia a G-20 nation and is hoping to have the fifth largest economy in the world by 2030.

Chalid noted many Indonesian officials were educated in Illinois. There are 11,500 Indonesians in the state. Part of her duties extend to tending to the needs of her countrymen, just as an American Consul General would in other nations.

One goal of Indonesian leadership is to diversify their economic base beyond a heavy emphasis on mining and minerals.

Chalid has been at her post for a year. While she dined on pasta at Thursday's reception, she admitted to a growing fondness for Chicago hamburgers and hot dogs.