JAKARTA, JAKTIMES.COM – The IndonesiaAlyoum.com team met with Indonesia’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Islamic World, Anis Matta, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Central Jakarta on Tuesday afternoon (December 16, 2025).
The meeting discussed efforts to strengthen Indonesia’s diplomacy in the Islamic world through the use of Arabic-language media, knowledge production, and cultural initiatives.
Founder of IndonesiaAlyoum.com, Muhammad Anas, emphasized that Arabic-language media plays a strategic role in strengthening Indonesia’s image in the Middle East and across the Muslim world.
“IndonesiaAlyoum.com serves as a bridge of information between Indonesia and the Islamic world. We are committed to presenting professional and accurate Arabic-language journalism that reflects Indonesia’s moderate and inclusive identity,” said Muhammad Anas.
According to Anas, public diplomacy through media is becoming increasingly important amid complex global geopolitical dynamics, where narrative competition unfolds rapidly and across borders.
Echoing this view, Media Advisor of IndonesiaAlyoum.com, Marwan Aziz, said that a cross-language digital media ecosystem holds strategic value—not only for diplomacy, but also for the sustainability of the media industry itself.
“International digital-based media such as IndonesiaAlyoum.com must be developed with a professional, sustainable, and collaborative approach. Synergy between media, government, and the private sector is key to ensuring that Indonesia’s message effectively reaches global audiences,” said Marwan Aziz, who is also known as the founder of Mediajakarta.com and Jaktimes.com.
Marwan added that the Muslim world readership market is a strategic niche that has yet to be optimally explored by Indonesian media.
Meanwhile, Deputy Foreign Minister Anis Matta underscored the importance of media and discourse production in strengthening Indonesia’s diplomacy in the Islamic world. He noted that modern diplomacy can no longer rely solely on formal state-to-state relations.
“Indonesia’s diplomacy must be reinforced through narratives, ideas, and cultural engagement. Media plays a crucial role as an instrument of Indonesia’s soft power,” Anis Matta said.
He also expressed appreciation for IndonesiaAlyoum.com’s initiative in presenting content about Indonesia to Arab audiences, noting that Arabic-language media has the potential to build positive perceptions while expanding Indonesia’s networks in the Middle East.
According to Anis, Indonesia still faces a narrative gap in the intellectual space of the Islamic world, particularly within academic institutions.
“We need to fill this narrative gap about Indonesia in the Islamic world. Therefore, I want to encourage the launch of a translation movement into Arabic in Indonesia through strategic cooperation with IndonesiaAlyoum.com,” he explained.
He said the initiative would focus on translating various Indonesian intellectual works—ranging from scholarly writings and literature to biographies of national figures—which would then be distributed to universities across Islamic countries. Indonesian embassies will be involved in collaborating with higher education institutions in the Middle East and the wider Muslim world.
Anis stressed that cultural and intellectual diplomacy must begin with a clear understanding of the target audience.
“Whenever I write a book, my first question is always: who is the audience? Only then do I determine the form and content. This principle must also be applied in diplomacy,” said Anis Matta, who is widely known as an Islamic activist and thinker with several published books.
He noted that building a compelling narrative about Indonesia requires time and consistency, but its impact will be far stronger and long-lasting.
“Trade may be relatively easy. But building a national storytelling takes sustained effort. Indonesia must first be told,” he said.
The meeting also explored opportunities for long-term collaboration among media, academics, and government institutions to strengthen Indonesia’s public diplomacy, particularly targeting the global Muslim community.
IndonesiaAlyoum.com is an Arabic-language digital media platform focusing on news, analysis, and positive narratives about Indonesia, with its primary audience in the Middle East and across the Islamic world.