This charming man with sunglasses and a black peci cap was smiling as he waved to the crowd, while a slightly older man sporting a safari suit and an iconic beard looked on joyfully, standing next to him.

It was a moment to behold — and one that was fortunately captured — as Sukarno, the first president of Indonesia, was greeted by a 20,000-strong crowd at Hanoi’s Ba Dinh Square, as part of a visit to his dear friend Ho Chi Minh, then-president of what was the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

Taken on June 24, 1959, the photograph was one of many historical artifacts put on display at the 60th anniversary commemoration of the exchange of visits between the two revolutionary leaders, held at the National Archives Building in Jakarta over the weekend.

At the time, Sukarno had traveled to Vietnam as a reciprocal gesture to Bak (Uncle) Ho’s prior state visit to Indonesia in February 1959 — a small testament to what historians say was a long-lasting friendship based on a common struggle against colonial rule.

The exhibition opened on Friday with Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi playing host to Vietnam’s Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung, alongside senior members of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), as well as officials from both sides.

PDI-P matriarch Megawati Soekarnoputri, who followed in her father Sukarno’s footsteps to become president between 2001 and 2004, was initially scheduled to inaugurate the event but was unavailable due to activities in Japan, a senior party official told local news outlets. In a meeting with the Vietnamese Embassy in Indonesia on Nov. 1, Megawati was quoted by the Communist Party of Vietnam’s online newspaper as saying the events afforded both sides a chance to further foster their “bilateral friendship and peace in the world”.

Retno, who went in Megawati’s place, said Friday’s event had the former leader’s full support.

The foreign minister highlighted the strategic significance of the meeting between the two presidents, saying it had created a strong foundation for the fruitful relationship between Vietnam and Indonesia over the past 60 years. “A strong and sustained friendship is not something that can be built overnight, but it is a long-term investment that we must continue to nurture,” Retno told reporters at the exhibition.

The two figures crossed paths during the decolonization push of the 1940s, leading separate August revolutions in 1945 that both culminated in declarations of independence.

During his visit to Indonesia from Feb. 27 to March 8, 1959, Ho spoke of his country’s unfinished revolution and supported Indonesia’s claim to West Irian — the western half of New Guinea island.

Sukarno visited Vietnam from June 24 to 29 later that year and their mutual visit would come to symbolize the neighbors’ close ties for the next 60 years.

“It is a very important event to mark the mutual visits by the two late presidents [...] The two leaders represent the aspirations for peace and for independence and for the freedom of the two nations,” Hoai Trung said on Friday, calling their friendship “monumental”.

“We think that relations between Indonesia and Vietnam and [among their] people have grown rapidly over time and [...] have a lot of potential to further develop our two nations.”

Under President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, the partners have focused more on economic cooperation, marked by a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on the sidelines of an international finance summit in Bali in 2018.

They are also partners in ASEAN and are expected to work together on the United Nations Security Council next year when Vietnam begins its two-year term — their second time together on the council since 2008, Retno noted.

Besides Sukarno, the people of Vietnam nowadays know Indonesia for its soccer team, as the host of two Asian Games and for its multicultural and peace-loving credentials. “[It is] a nation that has a variety of ethnicities [...] and very beautiful culture. A nation that is made up of many islands – and these are opportunities and difficulties and you have to deal with all the issues that arise [from it],” Hoai Trung told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

In recent years, however, the partners have had their own share of difficulties between them.

Indonesia is struggling to compete with Vietnam when it comes to taking advantage of the ongoing United States-China trade war. According to Japanese investment bank Nomura, Indonesia was not a first-choice destination for companies looking to relocate their production facilities when the trade war first erupted, noting that Vietnam had fared better in this regard. Jokowi repeatedly raised this issue and asked his Cabinet to increase competitiveness.

Indonesia has also been repeatedly involved in scuffles with Vietnam’s maritime authorities, straining efforts to conclude border talks at the edge of the widely contested South China Sea.

Underscoring the importance of historic relations, however, Indonesia’s top diplomat vowed to adopt the spirit of camaraderie that Sukarno and Ho Chi Minh put forward as an example.

“[We should] never forget history as it will change and [define] who we are,” Retno concluded her opening remarks on Friday, quoting a famous Sukarno phrase.

The exhibition in Jakarta is to run until Nov. 18, after which it is to move to Bali, Yogyakarta and Bandung, West Java — some of the stops that Ho Chi Minh made during his visit 60 years ago. (tjs)

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