June 12, 2001 - June 12, 2002
\nA Year of Philippine-Indonesian friendship and cooperation<\/p>\n
The Philippines and Indonesia have always enjoyed a deep
\nfriendship based on a sense of brotherhood as well as a sense of
\nshared culture and history between Filipinos and Indonesians.<\/p>\n
Since the establishment of official diplomatic relations on
\nNov. 24, 1949, the two countries have supported each other's
\ninterests and national goals at the bilateral, regional and
\nmultilateral levels.<\/p>\n
Ties of friendship and cooperation were further strengthened
\nin the past 12 months as both countries joined hands in their
\nefforts to address their domestic concerns and face the many
\nchallenges brought about by today's changed global environment.<\/p>\n
It was with great pleasure and honor that President Gloria
\nMacapagal Arroyo welcomed President Megawati Soekarnoputri after
\nshe chose the Philippines as the first stop in her tour of ASEAN
\ncountries in August 2001.<\/p>\n
The two leaders discussed matters of mutual concern such as
\nseparatist issues, cooperation on transnational crimes, trade and
\ninvestment, and the revitalization of the Brunei-Malaysia-
\nIndonesia-Philippine East ASEAN Growth Area or the BIMP-EAGA.<\/p>\n
Noting that their fathers, presidents Diosdado Macapagal and
\nSukarno, were like brothers, President Arroyo expressed a wish
\nthat she and President Megawati should be like sisters,
\nsupporting each other as they seek solutions to their nations'
\nproblems.<\/p>\n
President Arroyo's state visit to Indonesia on Nov. 12-13 last
\nyear was of particular significance since the last state visit to
\nJakarta of a Philippine president was in 1993, during the term of
\nPresident Fidel V. Ramos.<\/p>\n
Presidents Arroyo and Megawati held bilateral consultations
\nwhere they discussed substantive ways to enhance cooperation in
\nthe political, security and economic areas.<\/p>\n
During the consultations, President Megawati gave her
\nassurance that Indonesia would continue to support efforts toward
\npeace and development in the Southern Philippines. Both leaders
\nagreed to work on the proposal for ASEAN nations to share
\nintelligence information on transnational crimes and to keep
\ntighter control over their respective borders.<\/p>\n
The Philippine president's visit to Indonesia also saw the
\nsigning of four government-to-government and 16 private sector
\nagreements.<\/p>\n
The government-to-government agreements, the culmination of
\nmonths or years of bilateral negotiations, include an agreement
\non tourism cooperation, an agreement on fisheries cooperation, an
\nagreement on the mutual promotion and protection of investments,
\nand an agreement on the long-term supply of coal, oil and gas and
\ngeothermal energy development.<\/p>\n
The private sector agreements cover a wide range of areas and
\ninclude an agreement establishing the Indonesia-Philippines
\nBusiness Council under the framework of the Indonesian Chamber of
\nCommerce and Industry.<\/p>\n
Much has been done to maintain the momentum brought about by
\nthis exchange of high-level visits. Through the determined
\nefforts of their respective governments, Indonesia, Malaysia and
\nthe Philippines were able to sign an Agreement on Information
\nExchange and the Establishment of Communications Procedures on
\nMay 7, 2002. The Agreement is seen to facilitate cooperation and
\ninteroperability among the three countries to address border and
\nsecurity incidents, terrorism and other transnational crimes. It
\nhas been hailed as an important step taken as part of these
\ncountries' commitment to combat terrorism.<\/p>\n
On the part of the private sector, Filipino and Indonesian
\nbusinessmen have been active in ensuring that agreements signed
\nduring the visit of President Arroyo are followed through.<\/p>\n
Businessmen from both countries would undoubtedly be aided in
\ntheir efforts by the Indonesia-Philippines Business Council,
\nwhich was formally established on Feb. 19, 2002.<\/p>\n
The Council sent a delegation to Manila in March 2002 to renew
\ncontacts made with members of President Arroyo's business
\ndelegation and establish new ones for possible business ventures
\nin the future.<\/p>\n
Members of the Council later met with Philippine Presidential
\nAssistant for Mindanao, Jesus Dureza, for talks on business
\nopportunities between Mindanao and provinces in Sulawesi,
\nKalimantan and eastern Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The Philippines is looking forward to another year of fruitful
\nand meaningful cooperation with Indonesia. The Philippines will
\ndo its utmost in ensuring that the gains and inroads already
\nachieved in various fields of Philippine-Indonesian cooperation
\nwould not be wasted but instead be built upon for mutual
\nadvancement of the two countries.<\/p>\n
As President Arroyo herself said after her visit to Indonesia,
\n"Let us boldly step through these doorways and reach out across
\nthe seas for greater trade, warmer relations, mutual
\nundertakings. This is the key to stability and security.<\/p>\n
"This is the key to peace and development."<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/june-12-2001-june-12-2002-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }