Egypt, India, Australia, and Vatican were early RI recognizers
Egypt recognized RI de facto on March 22, 1946 and de jure on June 10, 1947, before support widened in international forums.
Ahead of the Aug. 17 commemoration, several media outlets have again highlighted the countries that were first to recognize Indonesia’s independence. CNN Indonesia wrote that the four early countries were Egypt, India, Australia, and Vatican. Egypt was described as the first recognizer, with de facto recognition on March 22, 1946 and de jure recognition on June 10, 1947, after lobbying by Indonesian diplomats in Cairo. India then backed RI at the U.N., including when the Netherlands launched a military offensive against Yogyakarta in 1948. Australia also brought the Indonesia issue to the U.N. Security Council in July 1947. Vatican, according to the report, became the first European country to recognize Indonesia’s independence and opened a diplomatic mission in Jakarta in 1947.