Indonesia and Turkey have been strategic partners since 2011. The two countries have close relations in various fields, not only strong bilateral cooperation but also collaborating in various organizations such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), G20, Mexico, Indonesia, Korea , Turkey and Australia (MIKTA) cooperation, and ASEAN. This was conveyed by Turkish Ambassador to Indonesia Mahmud Erol Kılıç in his remarks at the 96th Turkish National Day reception in Jakarta, Tuesday night (29/10). Considering the enormous potential of the two countries, Mahmud Erol Kılıç believes Indonesia and Turkey have plenty of room to expand relations especially in trade and industry.

"Given the high potentials of Turkey and Indonesia, as two fast developing countries, we believe that there is much room for further development of our brotherly relations, especially in the fields of trade and the fast industry. Indonesia is one of the largest trade partners of Turkey in the Asia Pacific region. This showed intensify or efforts to achieve the common target of 10 billion dollars bilateral trade volume by the year 2023," said Mahmud Erol Kilic.

Turkish Ambassador Mahmud Erol Kılıç added that relations between Indonesia and Turkey had been ongoing since the 16th century in the era of the Ottoman Empire. In the 19th century, Turkey had its Consulate General in Batavia or Jakarta. Indonesia and Turkey will celebrate 70 years of diplomatic relations in 2020. (VOI / AHM)

Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR), Rachmat Gobel, conveyed the 5 strengths of cooperation that Indonesia and Turkey have in establishing bilateral relations. This was conveyed by Rachmat Gobel in his speech representing the Indonesian government at the 96th Turkish National Day reception in Jakarta, Tuesday night (29/10). Rachmat Gobel said the strengths were strategic industries, trade, investment, tourism and education. In the field of strategic industries, Rachmat Gobel said that Indonesia and Turkey jointly produce Harimau Medium Tanks. While in the field of trade, the trade value between Indonesia and Turkey reached 1.79 billion US dollars in 2018, an increase of 4.7 percent compared to 2017. Gobel added, the two countries must work even harder to reach the target of 10 billion US Dollars.

"Our trade value has reached 1.79 billion US dollar in 2018, an increase of 4.7% compared to 2017. We need to work even harder to achieve the target of 10 billion US dollar in 2023 which was set by our two leaders in Ankara in 2017. For the purpose, the two countries need to accelerate the conclusion of Indonesia - Turkey Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IT-CEPA)," said Rachmat Gobel.

Furthermore Rachmat Gobel said in the investment sector, more than 50 Turkish companies have invested in Indonesia and Indonesia invested 20 million US Dollars in Turkey. In the tourism sector, Rachmat Gobel said more than 85 thousand Indonesian tourists visited Turkey in 2018 while 70 thousand Turkish tourists visited Indonesia, thanks to Garuda Indonesia and Turkish Airlines flights connecting the two countries. While in the field of education, Rachmat Gobel is happy that Turkey has become a popular education destination for Indonesian students, in which more than 1500 Indonesian students are studying in Turkey. (VOI / AHM)

Indonesia and Czech will commemorate the 70th bilateral relations in March 2020. During the relation the two countries have firm cooperation and helped each other. When Indonesia was hit by natural disasters in Sulawesi and Lombok, for example, the government of Czech helped these regions by rebuilding schools destroyed by the disasters. Ambassador of Czech to Indonesia Ivan Hotec said this on his speech at the commemoration of Czech National Day in Jakarta on Monday night (Oct 28).

“Our government has naturally brought the helping hand to the people in needs after the natural disasters on Sulawesi by significant aids and on Lombok by rebuilding elementary schools, thanks to activities of Happy Hearts Indonesia founded by the Czech personalities,” said Ivan Hotec.

Moreover, Ambassador Ivan Hotec  also explained that the government of Czech totally pays attention on natural conservation and environment in Indonesia, from Aceh until Papua. In addition, the governments of Czech and Indonesia have been very active in exchange of cultures, education and cooperation in the fields of tourism, investment, trade and technology. At the end of his speech, Ambassador Ivan Hotec, expressed his congratulation to the newly elected President and Vice President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo and  Ma’ruf Amin. (VOI/AHM)

The governments of Indonesia and Morocco have signed four Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) in the industry, maritime and fisheries sectors, for counter-terrorism measures and exchange of financial intelligence data on money laundering and terror funding.

The signing was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Pancasila Building in Jakarta, Monday, after the bilateral meeting between Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and her Moroccan counterpart Maroko Nasser Bourita.

It was witnessed by representatives of the Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries, National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT), and the Center for Reporting and Analysis of Financial Transactions, among others.

Minister Bourita's visit to Indonesia was the first official visit of a foreign minister since the announcement of the Onward Indonesia Cabinet on October 24.

"Morocco is a long-time friend and important partner for Indonesia from the Northern Africa region," Marsudi said.

In the meeting with Bourita, she conveyed the importance of immediately initiating a preferential trade agreement (PTA) negotiation. The agreement would allow for the removal of trade tariff barriers between Indonesia and Morocco.

Marsudi also expressed Indonesia's keen interest in expanding the market for seeded manufacturing products, believed to have tremendous potential in the Moroccan market, including textile, rubber, shoes, electronic products, home fittings and furniture.

"I also offered Indonesia's readiness to supply palm oil, tea, and coffee for domestic needs in Morocco," she said.

She also introduced Bourita to the Indonesian halal industry, which also had the potential for cooperation. In 2017, the value of Indonesia's halal industry reached US$2.1 trillion and is estimated to reach $3 trillion in 2023.

"I specifically invited Morocco to participate in the Halal Summit in Indonesia in November 2020," she said.

Both foreign ministers also discussed cooperation in the fields of vaccines and pharmaceuticals, infrastructure and transportation development by Indonesian state-owned companies in Morocco, as well as the joint venture between fertilizer companies for phosphate investment.

Aside from bilateral matters, Marsudi and Bourita discussed several regional and global issues, including the situation in the Middle East.

"I would like to emphasize that Indonesia wants the Middle East to be a peaceful, stable and prosperous region. There will be no world peace if there is no peace in the Middle East," Marsudi said.

For the Western Sahara issue, Indonesia encouraged all parties to participate in dialogues and support the UN-initiated process for a peaceful solution.

In terms of the issue in Palestine, Indonesia once again underlined the importance of implementing a two-state solution to create sustainable peace.

"As two Muslim countries, we are committed to promoting the face of Islam that is moderate, tolerant, and rahmatan lil alamin (a blessing for all creations)," she stated. (ANTARA)