Friday, August 7, 2015

INDONESIA, TURKEY WORK HARMONIOUSLY IN BILATERAL, MULTILATERAL PLATFORMS by Fardah





Jakarta, Aug 7, 2015 (Antara) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a three-day state visit to Indonesia from July 30 to August 1 to strengthen bilateral economic, social and political relations between the two Muslim-majority countries.
        The visit also marked the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations.
        In fact, the Turkish-Indonesian relations can be traced back to the 12th century when Turkish Islamic scholars had visited Indonesia to spread Islamic teachings.  
   The state visit to Indonesia was Erdogan's first ever as Turkey's president, but he had visited the nation three times in his previous capacity as prime minister.

         Speaking about his country's foreign policy during a conference held at the Indonesian Resilience Institute (Lemhannas) on July 31, President Erdogan said that Turkey and Indonesia have worked in harmony in both bilateral and multilateral platforms.

        He believed that the strong political ties will benefit not only the two nations but the entire world, as well.
        Erdogan also expressed his desire to work more closely with Indonesia at the Global Counterterrorism Forum and in the fight against tendencies such as xenophobia, discrimination, racism and Islamophobia.
        Later in the day, during a joint press conference with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, he stated that the two countries were looking forward to signing a free trade agreement, which is expected to help boost economic cooperation using their full potentials.  
    "We will set up a business forum, which is important because it can lead to the development of new projects and serve as a platform to discuss global issues," he explained.

        Turkey is one of Indonesia's closest partners. The two countries have signed an Indonesia-Turkey Joint Declaration Towards an Enhanced Partnership in a New World Setting. The declaration was signed by the Indonesian and Turkish presidents on April 5, 2011, in Jakarta.
         In the field of trade, Turkey is Indonesia's seventh-biggest trade partner in Europe, with the total value of trade in 2014 reaching US$2.47 billion, and Indonesia enjoying a surplus of US$450 million.
        Indonesia's main exports to Turkey are natural rubber, synthetic fiber, palm oil, and textile.
        In 2010, Turkey and Indonesia had particularly set an ambitious target to step up their bilateral trade to US$5 billion by 2015
    Turkish investment in Indonesia in 2014 was recorded at US$64.1 million in 29 projects, rising significantly from US$11.7 million in 22 projects in 2013.

         Jokowi noted that in the meeting attended by the two countries¿ delegations, they had focused on subjects related to the economy, including identifying ways to eliminate trade barriers and realize free trade.
         Both nations will cooperate in the development of power plants fueled by natural gas as well as introduce a direct flight between Turkey and Indonesia to boost tourism.
         "We also agreed to open a direct flight for the Turkey-Kuala Lumpur-Jakarta-Denpasar route to boost tourism and cargo shipments between Indonesia and Turkey," he remarked.
        With regard to tourism, six thousand Turkish tourists visited Indonesia in 2014.
        The two leaders in the bilateral meeting also agreed to realize cooperation in the industries of military equipment and shipbuilding.
        "Cooperation in the military equipment sector and small shipbuilding industries will be realized immediately," President Jokowi said.
         Turkey and Indonesia have been exploring cooperation in military and defense industry development over the last few years.
         This was in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on defense industry signed by the two countries when the then President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had visited Turkey in June 2010.
         Volkan Bozkir in his capacity as chairman of the Turkish Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, when visiting Jakarta in September 2012, stated that his country was very advanced in the defense industry and ready to establish cooperation in the sphere with Indonesia.
        The Turkish government's willingness to support the revitalization of Indonesia's defense industry was also expressed earlier when a seven-member Indonesian parliamentarian delegation headed by Mahfudz Siddiq made a three-day working visit to Turkey in April 2011.
        In the meantime, in a meeting with Vice President M Jusuf Kalla, Erdogan said the process of conflict settlement in Aceh could become a model to resolve conflicts in his region.
        "We are also talking about each peaceful settlement, such as how to settle the Aceh conflict. President Erdogan studied how to solve the Aceh  problem as a model to settle the conflict in Turkey," Kalla said on August 1.
        Turkey is a country that borders Syria, becoming a potential gateway for people seeking to join the radical movement Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
        Kalla said Erdogan also is concerned by the many people who want to join ISIS by traveling through his country.
       "Indonesia and Turkey are facing the same problem, ISIS. However, the problem is more serious in Turkey, than in Indonesia," Kalla said.
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(F001/INE/a014)
EDITED BY INE

(T.F001/A/BESSR/A. Abdussalam) 07-08-2015 17:53:38

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