I am happy to write this article on the auspicious occasion of the 75th Independence Day of Indonesia. This is the occasion when the country commemorates the struggles of founding fathers of Indonesia to break the shackles of colonialism to proclaim independence and laying the foundation of the modern Republic of Indonesia that we see today…
In my last three years in Indonesia, I could feel the energy and dynamism of our engagement. The dozens of other bilateral cooperation mechanisms that we have established in areas as diverse as security, counter-terrorism, trade, energy and agriculture is further testimony to this direction of our relationship.
There are many similarities and convergences between our two countries in terms of macroeconomic and demographic factors. We are among the largest economies and among the two fastest growing major economies in this century.
We have the strength and the potential of burgeoning young and dynamic population. In India, more than 800 million people below the age of 35 years are yearning to lead India to a new economic journey.
Indonesia is a country that has great economic potential; a potential that has not gone unnoticed to part of the global community. Indonesia – Southeast Asia’s largest economy – contains a number of characteristics that put the country in a great position to gather further momentum in economic development.
Being the largest economy of Asean, Indonesia is also one of the largest trading partners of India in this region.
In meetings of our leaders on the sidelines of multilateral fora in 2019, they gave a clear mandate to build a strong economic and development partnership that strengthens the flow of capital, trade, people and ideas between India and Indonesia.
They also agreed to identify complementarities on which the two countries could work together for mutual benefit.
India and Indonesia, being large developing countries, have many common challenges in food security, health, technology, infrastructure etc.
Especially, at a time when the onset of the covid-19 pandemic has posed new challenges in realizing our developmental goals, it is important for both our countries to come up with innovative solutions aimed at minimizing disruptions to trade and logistics.
India stands prepared to cooperate with Indonesia to tide over these difficult times. I am happy to note that this pandemic has not slowed down the pace of our overall cooperation.
As friends in prosperity and growth, we have also faced this challenge through collaborative and concerted efforts.
People-to-People Relations
The millennia long linkages between our two countries and people have matured to an extent where there is now a great upswing in our bilateral ties.
People-to-people ties have continued to flourish building on our civilizational connect. Both Indian and Indonesia are working together in areas such as culture and the arts, literature, media and youth in order to bring the people of our two countries closer.
As forward looking nations driven by the aspirations and hopes of our young populations, we are very much in step with each other.
Being at the cusp of the Asian century, the region needs civilizational powers such as India and Indonesia to not merely grow and emerge as major economies but also to collaborate closely to shape the century and present ideas peace and prosperity for the region and the world.
Pradeep Kumar Rawat is Indian Ambassador to Asndonesia and East Timor
