Turkey and Indonesia -- new responsibilities and a new role to play
by
H. SUSILO BAMBANG YUDHOYONO*

 The Turkish Parliament, and the elected members in it, is the backbone of your democracy, the embodiment of the people’s sovereignty. In this august forum, in this historic building, I can feel the heartbeat of the great nation of Turkey.

Turkey and Indonesia have always been great friends. This year, we celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations, which is part of the reason that I am here today. But, our relations actually date to centuries before the modern international system. It is known that the court of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent had developed a relationship with the Indonesian sultanate, which is now the Indonesian province of Aceh, a deep relationship that covered the politico-security, economic and socio-cultural fields.

This strong friendship helped Aceh, then known as Samudera-Pasai, resist colonial incursion for many years. As a former general, I am thrilled by the fact that there was once an Ottoman military academy in Aceh, which produced among our people some highly skilled freedom fighters. One of them was a woman admiral, who fought a fierce naval battle against Western forces in the Strait of Malacca. An interesting legacy of this friendship is that today in Aceh, there are many individuals with decidedly Middle Eastern features. These are the descendants of Ottoman experts in the manufacture of cannons and other weapons. They were sent over to help fight the colonizers, then decided to stay. Thus, they became part of the Indonesian nation.

Today a mosque and a housing project in Aceh province proudly bears the crescent and star emblem of Turkey -- for these were built with Turkish funds to help rehabilitate the communities devastated by the tsunami that killed some 150,000 Indonesians in December 2004. We are forever grateful for all that the Turkish government and people have done to help Indonesia in times of natural disaster.

Turkey, therefore, has long been related to our history, our culture and our struggle for freedom and nation-building. In that struggle, both Turkey and Indonesia had their moments of glory and despair. Indonesia was colonized for centuries by successive Western powers. The Ottoman Empire, once the world’s mightiest empire, suffered defeat, crumbled and broke into parts.

But, in the 20th century both Indonesia and Turkey experienced a national reawakening: We discovered and embraced nationalism, and adopted modern political concepts -- democracy, elections, rule of law, constitutional government and republicanism. The Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923, and the Republic of Indonesia proclaimed inde­pendence in 1945. Today, both Turkey and Indonesia are nations transformed.

Turkey is a pivotal influence in its region and a strong global player. It is a modern democracy with a dynamic economy that is driven largely by the attitude and skills of its people, not just by the exploitation of its natural resources. It is an industrializing economy with a strong agricultural base -- the best combination any country can have. And Turkey serves as a bridge between Asia, particularly the Middle East, and Europe, between the West and the world of Islam. It enjoys the best of both worlds.

On the other hand, Indonesia is now the world’s third largest democracy, and the country with the largest Muslim population. In Southeast Asia we are the largest nation with the largest economy. Our democracy is stable, vibrant and dynamic; our people adhere to pluralism and practice tolerance, and our nation is more united than ever. Indonesia is a founding member of [The Association of Southeast Asian Nations] ASEAN, which is a dynamic community, and widely regarded as one of the world’s most successful regional organizations.

Like Turkey, Indonesia is an active member of the G-20, the world’s premier forum for international economic decision-making.

Turkey and Indonesia in the 21st century

Considering what we have become and what history has made us, the question is: What now? How should Turkey and Indonesia relate to each other in the 21st century?

We must now define the shape and substance of our relationship, in the context of the critical time we live in. Our two countries must now develop relations that draw upon our wealth of assets and unique qualities, in order to meet the challenges of our time.

The power of numbers is behind us: The populations of Turkey and Indonesia together make a total of 310 million people. We have a combined GDP purchasing power parity of $1.833 trillion. And our combined natural resources are immense. On top of this, we have the dynamism of our people and the diplomatic weight and influence that we carry in the community of nations. With all this, there is much that we can do and achieve together. That is why our two countries have begun to cooperate closely in the fields of politico-security, economic development, trade and investment and tourism.

Today, we concluded a military and defense industry cooperation agreement. Our bilateral trade totaled $2 billion by the end of 2008. Today, we are aiming for an annual trade value of $5 billion. I am confident that we will surpass that too, since it is modest target and does not reflect the full potential of our economies.

We are strengthening our cooperation in the field of education. I look forward to intensive technical cooperation in order to increase both countries’ competitiveness. This will include training programs on market access and standards conformance and exchanges of lecturers, trainers and students.

We appreciate very much the Turkish government’s plan to establish a regional office of the Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency (TİKA) in Jakarta. This is just the right time to do that: Indonesia has just opened its doors wider to international development cooperation. And we intend to initiate a process to establish a consulate in İstanbul.

Our respective ministers are working hard, to strengthen our investment cooperation in the fields of manufacturing, infrastructures building, mining, energy -- especially renewable energy -- and services. Indonesia holds 40 percent of the world’s geothermal resources, and of that we are using only 4.2 percent. This is an investment opportunity for Turkey, which has the technology necessary for harnessing this form of energy. I have instructed my relevant ministers to explore further cooperation with Turkey in the mining sector. Their task is to make a match between our mineral resources and Turkey’s industrial needs.

And with the signing of a MOU on program exchanges between our state television stations, we are hoping to productively collaborate on the social education of our peoples. We in Indonesia know that Turkish television has become a tremendous cultural influence, in the entire Middle East and parts of southern Europe. Since our own screenwriters are also putting a modern spin on Muslim storylines and themes, both sides can learn from each other.

    On the whole, our bilateral cooperation is a great beginning. But, I also know that we can do much better than we are doing now. I look forward to rapid and significant growth in our relationship. This includes cooperation in addressing the global challenges of our time, and which, Turkey and Indonesia must help resolve.

Allow me to highlight five areas where the partnership between Turkey and Indonesia must be expanded and synchronized. These areas are: reforming the world economy, advancing harmony among civilizations, promoting democracy, resolving conflicts and dealing with pressing global issues.

Let us start with the world economy. We know that its centre of gravity is shifting -- from the developed to the developing world. That is why the G-20 had to be established. The G-7 can no longer save themselves, least of all the rest of humankind, from the global economic and financial crisis. The developing world, particularly emerging economies, must be included as part of the solution, and therefore must be given a greater say in global economic decision-making. We must now get used to living in the G-20 world. It is a new era, a different era. Turkey and Indonesia have new responsibilities and a new role to play.

Thus I had the privilege of working with Prime Minister Erdoğan, at the latest G-20 Summit in Toronto. In that meeting, the world’s largest economies decided on measures to ensure a recovery from the economic and financial crisis of 2008 and 2009. In doing so, we struck a balance between the need of some countries for fiscal consolidation, and the need of others for more fiscal stimulus.

Turkey and Indonesia are playing a constructive role in the G-20: We are pushing for the reform of the international financial institutions. We have successfully advocated a judicious balance between financial consolidation and sustaining the economic stimulus, making global economic recovery more durable. We have seen to it that financial flows to the most development and to the least developed countries are maintained.

   We must help sustain momentum for the cause of reform and development within the G-20. We must see to it that nations keep their commitment to open trade and do not revert to protectionism. We must keep on enhancing multilateral institutions that play a vital role in development and in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. We must help see to it that all the constructive measures we agreed upon in Toronto are fulfilled when we meet again in Seoul next November.

    In the recent global financial crisis, some of the world’s emerging economies proved their resilience by bouncing back quicker than most, and by becoming the engine powering global recovery. Indonesia was fortunate to register economic growth of 4.5 percent in 2009, the third highest in Asia, after China and India.

  Our challenge here is to ensure that the G-20 world will be able to deliver the benefits that we have always sought, in an equitable and inclusive manner. This means the G-20 must be able to spread prosperity and economic democracy throughout the world. It must be able to narrow the development gap, between the advanced countries and the developing and least developing countries. It must be able to help the community of nations reach the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 and beyond. And hopefully, it will enable humanity to reach a situation of zero poverty by the end of the 21st century.

The promotion of democracy

 The second area where Indonesia and Turkey can work together is in the promotion of democracy. One of the most significant developments of the 20th century has been the spread of democracy throughout the world. In 1974 there were 40 democracies. In 2009, there were 119. The world has never seen so many democracies. Turkey and Indonesia have been part of this global trend.

Turkey is a pioneer in democratization, having elected its first parliament about a century and a half ago. Indonesia is the last country to join the third wave of democratic growth in the 20th century, doing so in 1999. Both Turkey and Indonesia have developed our own homegrown democracies, each in their own unique circumstances, through a difficult process of trial and error. But in the end, we each produced a vibrant democracy where the people have full ownership. No one can say that our democracies were imposed from the outside.

Both Turkey and Indonesia have a stake in promoting democracy around the world. I believe, however, that we are not in the business of exporting democracy. What we can do is lead by the power of our example, by proving that democracy can bring about good governance, and that democracy can deliver the benefits of socio­economic development. The strongest message in support of democracy can be conveyed by our performance.

Of course, sincere dialogue and exchange of experiences will help greatly. That is why Indonesia launched, in 2008, the Bali Democracy Forum -- the only intergovernmental forum for the exchange of expe­riences and good practices to contribute to the political development of the Asian region. In this process there is no finger pointing or criticizing. Nobody plays the role of teacher or preacher. But, we do learn from one another’s successes and acknowledged mistakes. And if what we learn is applicable to our individual situations, then the process has made a valuable contribution.

In this regard, we in Turkey and Indonesia have put to rest the theory that democracy and development are not compatible. There was once a notion that developing countries must chose, either to have high economic growth, but with less democracy, or more democracy, but with less economic growth. In our experience, it turned out that we do not have to choose between democracy and development. Indeed, Indonesia’s democratic transition in the last 12 years has demonstrated that we can achieve both democracy and economic growth, and more importantly, we can achieve both at the same time.

The harmony of civilizations

The third area where we can make a difference is in promoting harmony between different civilizations. Humankind had never experienced a time when all civilizations have coexisted in peace. However, the clash of civilizations of the past need not be our future. I believe that the 21st century can be an era marked by a confluence of civilizations, particularly as we witness the emergence of global consciousness and a growing trend toward multiculturalism across the world. Turkey and Indonesia can do much to foster this trend, because we are both peaceful, tolerant and dynamic Muslim nations that value openness, pluralism and tolerance. We can both play a mediating role between the world of Islam and the West. And we can both serve as a counterbalance to extremism all over the world.

In the case of Indonesia, we have always been a great believer in dialogue. The only way we are able manage our nation’s diversity of faiths and ethnic cultures, is through a national process of consultation and social consensus. Hence, we have organized interfaith and intercultural dialogues, in tandem with other governments, international organizations, civil society and the media. We are actively involved in the dialogue within the Alliance of Civilizations under the aegis of the United Nations, a worthy undertaking, which Turkey helped to initiate. I look forward to Turkey and Indonesia collaborating on and organizing inter-regional dialogue between different faiths and civilizations. And I look forward to the involvement of all the members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference [OIC] in such a dialogue -- in the spirit of the Mecca Declaration.

The fourth area of our cooperation is in conflict resolution. While it is true that the number of conflicts around the world has been reduced, there are still too many of them. The most persistent is the conflict in Palestine, which has led to a humanitarian tragedy. It is a powder keg that can explode any time and engulf the region in bloody conflict.

The recent attack on the Mavi Marmara is illustrative of this danger. We grieve with Turkey for nine of its citizens who died during the course of an Israeli military attack, on the humanitarian vessel, Mavi Marmara. There were 12 Indonesians on board that vessel during the attack. This shows how deeply Indonesia sympathizes with the plight of the Palestinian people, and how much we support Turkey’s efforts to help a long-oppressed neighbor. These 12 Indonesians are now safe, even though two of them were badly wounded, and some of them have made their way back to their loved ones in Indonesia. We are thankful for what Turkey has done to ensure their well-being.

We condemn this criminal act of aggression by Israel. In the interest of justice, there must be an impartial and transparent investigation of this attack. And Israel must be prevailed upon to lift its illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip and other occupied territories, which has triggered a humanitarian crisis. It must cease violating international law and UN Security Council resolutions. It must stop building illegal settlements in Palestine. We support Palestine’s position on the proximity talks, and all efforts to make the talks possible, including reconciliation between different Palestinian factions. The process must lead to a two-state solution, with Palestinians living in peace, side by side with Israel, within internationally guaranteed borders. We will sustain our efforts to organize and offer capacity-building programs for Palestinian officials and citizen, in preparation for the day when Palestine finally exercises its right to sovereignty and independence. By 2013, we shall have trained some 1,000 Palestinian citizens and officials.

Finally, the relationship between Indonesia and Turkey in the 21st century compel us to work together to address contemporary global challenges such as nuclear disarmament, natural disasters, terrorism, infectious diseases and others. The most urgent among these global challenges is climate change. Like Turkey, Indonesia is doing all it can to help the international community achieve a climate regime that is compatible with sustainable development. I hope that we can reach a consensus during the Cancun Conference at the end of the year. I applaud Turkey’s reform in the use of energy, and wish every success for its new national strategy on climate change. As for Indonesia’s part, we are committed to a 26 percent reduction of our carbon emissions by 2020, based on our own resources. With international support, we can commit to a 41 percent reduction of emissions.

I am sure that in our initiatives -- in the G-20, the United Nations and other forums -- we will be joined by other nations, who share the same vision for a better world. The best way to pursue these initiatives is through the exercise of soft power. If the 20th century was a century of hard power -- with two world wars and millions of deaths as a result of conflicts -- we can make the 21st century a century of soft power, a century in which nations avoid conflict and live in harmony with one another, a century in which connectivity, cooperation and goodwill prevail and nations harness their diversity. Thus, humankind will reach new heights of achievement, including the conquest of poverty and prejudice.

And, finally, whatever we accomplish together, whether it be much or little, will make a difference for this and future generations of humankind. Let us join hands to make that difference.