BILATERAL RELATIONS BETWEEN INDONESIA AND TURKEY Historical Relations Despite geographical distances, there had been commercial,

diplomatic and military relations between Turkey and Indonesia dated back the Sultanate kingdom in Aceh. These relations took place mainly in the 16th and 19th centuries. Official record in the Mhimme Records issued by the Divan-i Humayun (Ottoman Government) states the coming of Aceh envoys to Istanbul and their request of military aid from Turkey as well as on the preparation of a navy campaign to Sumatra in support of Aceh in 1567. As for the 19th century relations, the Turkish sources focus on the coming of Aceh delegations to Istanbul in 1851 and 1873. These sources come from various government offices, and they are mainly related to the renewal of loyalty compromise of the 16th century and Acehnese requests of protection from the Ottoman Empire. The presence of the Turks in the region has also been recorded by the famous North African Muslim traveler Ibni Battuta (d.1369), who visited the Samudra-Pasai Sultanate in northern Sumatra on his way to China in 1345 and 1346. He mentions that the state traditions of this sultanate are similar to those of the Delhi Turkish Sultanate in India. He also tells about the story of a queen who spoke Turkish with himself in an island called Tawalisi. Her name is given with a Turkish word as Urduja.

Diplomatic Relations: Turkey recognized Indonesia on 29 December 1949 and diplomatic relations were established in 1950. Turkish Embassy in Jakarta was opened on 10 April 1957. The Embassy covers whole Indonesia and is also accredited to Timor-Leste since 2003. The Office of the Commercial Counsellor was opened in April 2007 in the premises of our Embassy. Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Turkey in Medan has been serving since May 1996.

Political Relations: Turkey and Indonesia have enjoyed traditionally friendly relations based on historical and cultural affinities. Despite the geoghraphical distance, the two countries have developed wide-ranging bilateral relations encompassing Besides their bilateral relations, Turkey and Indonesia also actively

economy, politics, culture and education.

cooperate at regional and multilateral forums. The UN, Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), Developing-8, G20 are the leading forums both countries work closely.

The close relations between two countries are also reflected in mutual high-level visits. The recently realized highlevel visits include Prime Minister H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdogans visit to Indonesia in May 2006 to attend D-8 Summit, and State Minister H.E. Mehmet Ali Sahins visit to Aceh in December 2006 to inaugurate the housing project and other facilities established by Turkish Red Crescent following the Tsunami disaster.

Visits of H.E. Bambang Sudibyo, Minister of National Education to Turkey on December 2007, and of Elka Pangestu on September 2008 are among the high level visits to Turkey from Indonesian side.

H.E. Mari

With the aim of fostering closer relations between the Parliaments of the two countries, friendship groups were established in Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) and Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) on 15 June 2000, and 26 June 2000 respectively. The two parliaments also maintain close cooperation in the framework Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA).

Turkish Indonesian Economic and Commercial Relations:, Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement which was signed in 1982 constitutes the basis for economic cooperation between Turkey and Indonesia. The agreements for Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments and the Prevention of Double Taxation which were completed in 1997 paved the way for closer cooperation on economic and commercial fields. Turkey and Indonesia established Joint Economic Commission (JEC) in 1982 held the first meeting of JEC in the same year. The Seventh JEC Meeting took place in 17-18 September 2008 in Ankara, and at this meeting two sides agreed on organizing JEC Meetings once in every two years on a regular basis. Private sectors of two countries founded Turkish - Indonesia Business Council in 1995. The first meeting of the Council took place in the same year. The Council which stayed inactive until 2006 was revitalized that year and second and third meetings of the Council were held in October 2006 in Jakarta and in September 2008 in Istanbul respectively. The two sides agreed on holding the Business Council Meetings annually on regular basis in Indonesia and Turkey respectively. Turkey attaches great importance to enhancing and deepening its trade relations with Indonesia. The trade and economic relations between Turkey and Indonesia increased considerably during last years and the total trade volume with a 38% increase reached the historical amount of 1.53 billion USD in 2007. Turkeys export to Indonesia reached 174 million USD, while the imports from Indonesia moved up to 1,36 billion USD. Indonesia experienced a trade surplus 1,18 billion USD with Turkey in 2007. The total trade volume is expected to reach 2 billion USD at the end of this year. Bilateral trade relations have been mainly conducted by Turkeys imports from Indonesia. Turkeys main export items are wheat flour, chemicals, electrical machines, iron and steel products, cotton and yarns, carpets and tobacco, while Indonesiaa main export items comprise of palm oil and its fractions, natural rubber, textile products, chemicals, paper and paperboard, television tubes, footwear, ceramic tableware, wood, furniture and electrical machinery and equipment. Turkey considers that geographical locations of Turkey and Indonesia present a chance for both sides to become a base for benefiting from the opportunities of their respective regions. In this sense, the potential market of both countries are equally strategic. Turkey is at the gateway to Europe, Middle East and Western and Central Asia while Indonesia is at the gateway to the Southeast Asia Region. At the 7 Term JEC Meeting the two sides reiterated their confidence that trade volume would reach 2 billion Dollars by the end of 2008 and set the target as 5 billion Dollar for the year of 2011.
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Turkeys Bilateral Trade Figures with Indonesia

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Exports of Turkey(USD ) 30.494.59 4 32.417.552 28.543.237 46.970.919 54.118.66 1 80.796.81 5 84.984.899 173.731.809

Imports of Turkey (USD) 231.389.0 42 202.234.521 327.021.231 450.353.860 623.420.3 00 745.389.2 96 1.031.302.8 84 1.359.852.0 45

Cultural and Educational Relations:

The Agreement on Cultural Affairs between Turkey and Indonesia signed in 1973 forms the basis of bilateral cultural and educational relations between the two countries.

Due to the intensive cultural activities and publications made about Turkey in Indonesia, tourism relations are also rapidly developing between Turkey and Indonesia. The number of Indonesian tourists visiting Turkey reached 11.790 with an increase of 33% in 2007.

Within the framework of the increasing interest shown in the Turkish culture and language in recent years, Turkish Corners have been opened in the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islam University in Jakarta and Iain-Ar-Rainry University in Banda Aceh and optional Turkish language courses have been started in the University of Indonesia, Gajah Mada University and Malang University. Furthermore, in the Sultan Selim II Community Center which was built by the Turkish Red Crescent in Banda Aceh, Turkish language courses are also given to Indonesian students.

In 2007, sister city relationship has been established between Istanbul and Jakarta. Every year, the Turkish Culinary and Cultural Weeks are organized by the Turkish Embassy in Jakarta. In the cultural weeks which are mostly held twice a year, the locals of Jakarta find the chance to taste the unique Turkish food, listen to Turkish music and watch the Turkish folkloric dances.

In addition to that, every year, conferences are organized on Turkey and Turkish Foreign Policy in various universities and presentations are made by the staff members of the Turkish Embassy.

There are nearly 250 Turkish citizens living in Indonesia. A significant number of the Turkish citizens living in Indonesia are teachers working in the schools owned by the PASIAD (Foundation on Social and Economic Cooperation with the Pacific Countries). PASIAD has 6 schools in Indonesia (2 in Jakarta and one each in Bandung, Semarang, Banda Aceh, and Sregen). These schools are of international school status and all lessons in these institutions are given in Bahasa Indonesia and English. In addition to that, Turkish language courses are given to students 3 hours a week.

There are also around 50 Turkish students studying in Indonesia in various universities. Turkish businessmen in Indonesia who are working in different sectors form also an important part of the Turkish community.

During the visit of the Minister of National Education of Indonesia H.E. Prof. Dr. Bambang Soedibyo to Turkey on 711 December 2007, a Letter of Intent Between The Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the Government of the Republic of Turkey Concerning Educational Cooperation Program was signed by the two Ministers. On the basis of this document, the Indonesian school masters started visits to Turkey on a regular basis to participate short term training programmes. The Turkish government is providing scholarships to the Indonesian students on an annual basis. In the 2008-2009 educational term; 2 Turkish language, 5 university, 5 post-graduate and 3 research scholarships were granted to Indonesian students. The scholarship consist of tuition fee, dormitory facilities, monthly allowance and health

expenses. The students have to cover travel expenses by themselves. Applications for the scholarships should be made to the Embassy through e-mail or by phone. By clicking on the address below, you can find the detailed info on the scholarships. http://www.meb.gov.tr/ In 2008, University Examination for Foreign Students has been organized in Indonesia for the first time. 250

students participated in the examination in 2008. The successful students in the examination acquire the right to realize their university education in Turkey. For further information on the possibilities of university education in Turkey and that examination, you can contact the Embassy. Another important step that was taken in the area of education for the enhancement of cooperation between the two countries is the building of sister school relationships between the high schools of Indonesia and Turkey. The schools which have been establishing sister school relationships with the Turkish schools so far are the SMA Lab School Jakarta, the SMA 8 Jakarta and the SMA Negeri 1 Atatrk High School in Banda Aceh, which was built after the Tsunami in Aceh by the Turkish Red Crescent (Kzlay). On the other hand, with the DARMASISWA foreign student programme, Indonesia is providing scholarships to students of nearly 50 countries including Turkey in order to study Indonesian language, art, history and music.

List of of bilateral treaties or agreements which were signed by Indonesia and Turkey: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Trade Agreement (14 September 1958) Cultural Agreement (18 August 1973) MoU on Cooperation in Construction Services (12 March 1982) Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation (18 December 1982) Agreed Minutes of the First Session of the Joint Commission for Economic and Technical Cooperation (15 January 1985) 6. Agreed Minutes of the Second Session of the Joint Commission for Economic and Technical Cooperation (27 January 1988) 7. 8. Air Transport Agreement relating to Scheduled Air Transport (18 February 1993) MoU between Turkish Association of Chambers of Commerce and Stock Exchange (TOBB) and Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) (18 February 1993) 9. Agreement on the Establishment of Business Council (12 January 1995)

10. MoU and Protocol on Agricultural Cooperation (30 May 1995) 11. Agreement on Double Taxation Avoidance (25 February 1997) 12. Agreed Minutes of the Fifth Session of the Joint Commission for Economic and Technical Cooperation (17 June 2005) 13. Agreement on Investment (25 February 1997) 14. MoU between Batam Industrial Development Authority of the Republic of Indonesia and the Aegean Free Zone Development and Operating Company in Turkey (17 June 2005) 15. Protocol on the Joint Issuance of Stamps (17 June 2005) 16. MoU on Cooperation in Tourism (6 October 1993) 17. MoU between the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) of the Republic of Indonesia and the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (17 June 2005) 18. MoU between the National Standardization Agency of the Republic of Indonesia and the Turkish Standards Institution on Technical Cooperation (17 June 2005) 19. Protocol of Cooperation between the National Agency for Export Development (NAFED) of the Republic of Indonesia and Export Promotion Center of Turkey (IGEME) (17 June 2005) 20. Agreed Minutes of the Joint Commission for Economic and Technical Cooperation (13 October 2006)

REFERENCE Anonymous, Turkish-Indonesian Bilateral relations [online] , Turkish Embassy Jakarta, available at: http://jakarta.emb.mfa.gov.tr/ShowInfoNotes.aspx?ID=121618 (accessed July, 16 2013). Anonymous, Turkish-Indonesian Economic and Commercial Relations [online], Turkish Embassy Jakarta, available at: http://jakarta.emb.mfa.gov.tr/ShowInfoNotes.aspx?ID=121616 (accessed July, 16 2013). Anonim, Profil Hubungan Indonesia-Turki [online], Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Angkara, available at: http://www.kemlu.go.id/ankara/Pages/CountryProfile.aspx?l=en (accessed July, 16 2013).
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