India Indonesia Relation Recent PM
Visit
·
Both Dr. Singh and Mr. Yudhoyono are
currently in the final lap of their second terms in power.
·
India and Indonesia’s youthful
demographic profile and expanding middle-class consumer base have led many an excitable
investment banker to mark them as the economies to watch.
·
India is the world’s largest democracy
and Indonesia its third largest one.
·
The two countries are also home to the
largest (Indonesia) and third largest (India) number of Muslims in the world.
Both are members of important multilateral forums like the G-20 and East Asia
Summit.
·
India and Indonesia are maritime
neighbours. Given that Indonesia rules the major waterways between the Indian and
Pacific Oceans—- waters through which more than half of all international
maritime trade passes — the strategic significance of the relationship looms
large. In fact India’s 2009 maritime strategy document listed the Sunda and
Lombok straits, both under Indonesian control, as major choke points with complicating
potential for Indian interests. Cooperation with Indonesia is a prerequisite to
enable the Indian Navy’s operations in these waters. Joint coastal monitoring
has been ongoing since 2010, but there is a need to step up this cooperation,
including joint maritime exercises and training.
·
The relationship with Indonesia has also
assumed greater importance in the context of China’s rise and expanding
regional reach. Both India and Indonesia have the potential to act as balancing
powers and can aid each other in their mutual goals of engaging China to
benefit from its economic might, while ensuring that Beijing’s power is not
untrammelled. In recent months Indonesia has been playing the mediator’s role
within Asean to find a solution to China’s maritime disputes with countries
like Vietnam and the Philippines.
·
Counter-terrorism is another field where
Indonesia and India should deepen their cooperation. They have both suffered
from major terrorist attacks by radical Islamist groups in the last decade.
·
Economic relations between the two
countries, another focus of Dr. Singh’s visit, are not insubstantial. Two-way trade
was worth around $21.3 billion in 2012.
Forty-six per cent of India’s trade with Indonesia
consists of palm oil imports. Indonesia is also India’s biggest supplier of
coal, with some 76 per cent of Indian coal imports originating there. While there is
some Indian investment in Indonesia, focused on automotives (Tata Motors has
just launched three models of cars), textiles, steel and banking, talks on a
comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA) have yet to take off.
·
Indonesia has a large Indian diaspora,
many of whom play an influential role in the Indonesian economy. Yet, India has
failed to exploit these connections.
The
lack of direct flights connecting India and Indonesia is a dampener on business
as well as people-to-people exchanges.
·
In contrast, the Chinese diaspora is an
active economic bridge between mainland China and Indonesia. Indonesia’s
trade with China stands tellingly at $66 billion.
Joint Statement
The
Leaders agreed to adopt a five-pronged initiative for strengthening the
Strategic Partnership
1.
Strategic
Engagement
·
hold Annual Summits, including on the margins of multi
lateral events
·
Joint Working Groups on Education, Tourism, Coal , Oil and Gas, Agriculture, Counter Terrorism and
Science & Technology
·
regular exchange of delegations between
the two Parliaments have helped in sharing views, experiences and best
practices
·
acknowledged the
increasing intensity of collaboration
between the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and
the National Institute of Aeronautics
and Space of Indonesia (LAPAN)
·
Cooperation regarding the Utilization of
Nuclear Energy for Peaceful Purposes
2.
Defence
and Security Cooperation
·
commencement of the Defence Ministers’
Dialogue and regular
convening of the
Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC)
·
closer
collaboration on capacity building and
exchange of best practices in the
field of maritime security and hold joint exercises
·
enhance bi lateral cooperation in
combating terrorism, terrorist financing, money laundering, arms
smuggling, trafficking in human beings, and cyber crime
3.
Comprehensive
Economic Partnership
·
expressed confidence in achieving the bilateral
trade target of US $25 billion by
2015
·
launch of negotiations on an
India-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) that would
build upon the ASEAN-India FTA by bringing more depth and coverage
·
cooperate in promotion of energy
efficiency technologies, new and renewable energy technologies, with the shared
aspiration to ensure energy security
·
highlighted the importance of food
security for the peoples of both countries and agreed to work together and with
other partners towards concrete actions in food security mechanisms, research
and development and in international
bodies
·
direct flight connectivity for trade and
tourism
4.
Cultural
and People-to-People Links
·
build upon the close historical and cultural
links through promotion of art, literature, music and dance under the Cultural Exchange Programme
·
work on the institutionalization of
university-to-university linkages to
facilitate faculty exchange,
teachers training, double-degree programmes
5.
Cooperation
in Responding to Common Challenges
·
Realizing that the international community faced common challenges of
increasing the momentum of global
economic recovery, both sides agreed that as key members of the international community, India and Indonesia must work
together effectively in fora like the UN, UNFCC, WMO, WTO and the G-20 to help
achieve consensus on common and collective approaches to these important issues
·
as two large countries straddling the
Indian Ocean, have a high stake
in ensuring the
effectiveness of Indian
Ocean Rim Association
for Regional Cooperation (IORARC) in
promoting regional cooperation
in the fields
of Mari time Safety
& Security, Trade
and Investment Facilitation
MOU
signed
1
Health cooperation.
2
Combating Corruption.
3
Combating Illicit Trafficking in
Narcotics, Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and their Precursors.
4
Cooperation in the field of Disaster
Management.
5
Public Administration
6
World Affair
written by - atul yadav
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