Fajarasia.co – Through parliamentary diplomacy, the Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, encouraged G20 countries to increase investment in Indonesia. This was done on the sidelines of the 8th G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit (P20) which was held at the DPR Building.
When meeting with the Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Zhu Chen at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Wednesday (5/10/2022), Puan appreciated the trade volume between Indonesia and China, which in 2021 will reach USD 110 billion. and is the largest value in the history of trade between the two countries.
“China has been Indonesia’s biggest trading partner for many years. I hope that the two countries can continue to increase the value of a more balanced trade in the future,” said Puan.
Puan also welcomed the investment that China had invested in Indonesia, where China was ranked as the third largest foreign investor in Indonesia with a direct investment of USD 3.2 billion.
“Overall, I look forward to our joint efforts in strengthening our bilateral trade and investment cooperation in the future,” he said.
While talking with Zhu Chen, Puan expressed her gratitude for the support in procuring the Covid-19 vaccine from China to Indonesia in handling the impact of the global pandemic. The DPR encourages the establishment of cooperation between the two countries in the development of a Covid-19 vaccine.
“I would also like to thank China for its full support for Indonesia to become a vaccine manufacturing hub in the region. The cooperation to overcome the Covid-19 between Indonesia and China is an ideal example for any proactive and dynamic cooperation,” said Puan.
The first woman to serve as Chair of the Indonesian House of Representatives hopes that the cooperation between China and Indonesia can be developed in other types of cooperation in other fields. Puan encouraged the governments of the two countries to resolve various trade barriers to be balanced and sustainable.
“This is to increase exports of Indonesia’s leading commodities from the agricultural sector, such as pineapples and fisheries to China,” said Puan.
Puan then mentioned the warm communication and intensive interaction that continues to exist between the leaders and high-ranking officials of Indonesia and China, which was pioneered by the first President of the Republic of Indonesia, Soekarno in 1950. Even Bung Karno was said to be very impressed with the magnificent welcome of the Chinese people when he came to visit in 1956.
According to him, at that time President Soekarno also emphasized the support of the Indonesian people for China’s recognition at the United Nations. Therefore, Puan is pleased with the increasingly solid bilateral relationship between Indonesia and China, especially since President Jokowi’s visit to China last July resulted in an agreement on the general direction of building a community with the same fate as the two countries.
“Especially after the inauguration of the High Level Dialogue and Cooperation Mechanism in June 2021, which synchronizes in 3 important aspects, namely political aspects of law and human rights, economics, and student and cultural exchange mechanisms,” said Bung Karno’s grandson.
“Hopefully this inauguration can strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries, not only in these three fields but also in every aspect of cooperation between Indonesia and China,” continued Puan.
In addition to China, Puan also held a bilateral meeting with the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Singapore, Tan Chuan-Jin. At the beginning of the meeting, he congratulated Singapore on the success of Singapore in organizing the Formula 1 Grand Prix on 2 September.
“I am happy with the Indonesia-Singapore bilateral relations which are getting more solid and constructive. After all, Singapore is a close neighbor and strategic partner of Indonesia’s main economy, especially trade and investment, which has been going on for more than 55 years,” said Puan.
He added that bilateral relations between Indonesia and Singapore were getting better thanks to the annual Leaders’ Retreat. This year, the Leaders’ Retreat resulted in increased cooperation in the fields of politics, law and security, investment, digital economy, green economy between Indonesia and Singapore.
The Leaders’ Retreat 2022 also strengthened the partnership between Indonesia and Singapore with the signing of three strategic agreement documents in the fields of politics, law and defense and security. Puan then appreciated Singapore’s support for economic recovery and development development, especially in the Batam-Bintan-Karimun (BBK) area which could trigger a multiplier effect for Indonesia as a whole.
“I am optimistic that in the future the Indonesia-Singapore partnership will continue to expand and further facilitate the intensification of people-to-people relations and socio-cultural cooperation, including the two-way movement of students in Indonesia-Singapore,” said the former Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture.
“I hope that a comprehensive scenario and roadmap for developing renewable energy, especially in the field of carbon credit mechanisms and trade schemes that will be implemented, can be realized soon,” continued Puan.
The DPR also encourages the progress of partnerships in the investment, transportation, labor, agribusiness and tourism sectors, including the development of the Batam-Bintan-Karimun Region and other Special Economic Zones. Puan views that the progress of the partnership can be realized with the help of parliamentary diplomacy, both bilaterally, regionally and globally.
“Parliamentary diplomacy needs to be carried out to strengthen inter-Government diplomacy. Indonesia is very open to share and exchange views in a constructive dialogue, in order to strengthen the strategic role and synergistic partnership between Indonesia and Singapore,” he explained.
Today Puan also met with the Speaker of the National Assembly/Chair of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan or the Chairman of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan, Sahiba Gafarova. This year, Indonesia’s diplomatic relations with Azerbaijan have entered the age of 30.
“Azerbaijan has a special place in our hearts. The Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan which was established in Jakarta is the first Azerbaijani embassy in Southeast Asia,” said Puan.
Puan said Azerbaijan is one of Indonesia’s strategic trading partners where during 2021, the trade value between the two countries has reached more than 200 million US dollars. He hopes that the number of trade will continue to increase in the future.
“Indonesia and Azerbaijan have potential trade partnerships that are prospective to be developed, especially related to the oil and gas sector from Azerbaijan and the non-oil sector from Indonesia,” he explained.
The governments of Indonesia and Azerbaijan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of energy cooperation on April 30, 2021. A total of 50 Indonesian citizens are currently working as experts in the energy sector in Baku, Azerbaijan.
“I hope it can contribute to the development of Azerbaijan’s oil and gas sector. I also hope that this cooperation can increase to a higher level and create mutual benefits between the two countries and encourage the urgency of innovative solutions by countries through the energy transition,” said Puan.
“On this occasion I also encourage the two governments to increase the role of the private sector in B-to-B cooperation in the energy sector,” he continued.
Puan also underlined the cooperation in the fields of education, social and culture between universities in Azerbaijan and Indonesia. Since 2012, the Center for Indonesian Studies established at the Azerbaijan University of Languages (AUL) has been successful in promoting Indonesian language and culture in Azerbaijan. Then from 2016 to 2019, Indonesia has held 4 cultural festivals in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
“Azerbaijan and Indonesia have a lot in common, especially in the socio-cultural aspect. Culture is a ‘bridge’ that can unite people and nations,” said Puan.
Azerbaijan is also known to have planned to hold the first Azerbaijan Cultural Week in Indonesia in 2020, but it was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Puan hopes that Azerbaijan can realize this cultural event after the Covid-19 pandemic begins to improve.
“I also hope that mutual support cooperation in regional and international fora can continue,” he hoped.
On that occasion, Puan also expressed her concern over the ongoing conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
“I hope that both parties can exercise restraint to prevent more casualties, and prioritize conflict resolution through dialogue and diplomacy,” concluded Puan.*****
