KRI Dewaruci sets sail on archipelago's spice route

Jakarta, June 2 (ANTARA) - Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Minister Nadiem Anwar on Wednesday flagged off Republic of Indonesia ship (KRI) Dewaruci, which will sail the archipelago's historic spice route with the 2022 Spice Route Cultural Goodwill participants. Makarim and the Naval Deputy Chief of Staff, Vice Admiral Ahmadi Heri Purwono, released the ship at the Fleet Command Pier II, Surabaya, East Java, on Wednesday (June 1). "Today, ladies and gentlemen, we made a historic moment. The departure of KRI Dewaruci, which is carrying the Spice Route ‘troops,' coincides with the commemoration of Pancasila Day," Makarim remarked. KRI Dewaruci will sail to Makassar, then Baubau and Buton, Ternate, and Tidore, continue to Banda Neira, Kupang, and return to Surabaya on July 2, 2022. "The spice route and Pancasila are important milestones in the course of our nation's history," Makarim said. The spice route centered in the archipelago has played an important role in encouraging the progress of global civilization, he added. "For more than a thousand years, long before the arrival of Europeans, sailors, merchants, and scholars from different parts of the world interacted (here) and (this) resulted in the cultural diversity that later became the core of our nation's strength," he explained. The Pancasila ideology was born from a land with cultural diversity, he noted. Pancasila was not created, but was "dug" from Indonesian soil, he added. "Pancasila is a national philosophy that unites us in diversity," he said. The Spice Route Cultural Goodwill activity was organized by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology in collaboration with the Indonesian Navy, local governments, and several cultural communities. The activity is expected to be a form of cultural diplomacy for strengthening Indonesia's position as a global maritime axis, Makarim remarked.