Act Together, Advance Together

Act Together, Advance Together

Indonesia not only has a close historic relationship with Japan, but also maintains close relations in trade and investment. Below is an interview with Japanese Ambassador Yutoko Iimura about the Japanese government's commitment to further assist Indonesia in achieving stability.

Question: What is your impression when you look back at the last four months since your arrival in Indonesia to take up your assignment?

Answer : After taking up my duties here, I held a series of talks with high-ranking figures in the Indonesian government, including President Megawati. I heard about the efforts made by Megawati's administration toward reform and democratization. While facing various problems, Indonesia is in the middle of a transition in which it promotes reform in a wide range of fields, including politics and economics. Japan is determined to spare no effort in giving its continued assistance for further reform in Indonesia.

The Bali bombings in October claimed many victims, including Japanese. Terrorism is a horrible, inexcusable act that targets innocent people. Japan, in cooperation with the Indonesian government, is determined to continue its fight against terrorism so that it does not reoccur. Bali is considered to be one of the most favored tourist destinations by the Japanese, and I certainly hope that Bali and Indonesia will recover soon from the shock caused by the incident. Japan is going to help in the recovery process as much as possible.

On Dec. 9, the agreement for the cessation of hostilities was signed as a first step toward the realization of peace in Aceh. Before the agreement, Japan co-chaired the Preparatory Conference on Peace and Reconstruction in Aceh with the U.S., the World Bank and the EU on Dec. 3 in Tokyo. This is one of the most impressive aspects, and it demonstrates the deep and wide range of cooperation between Japan and Indonesia.

What do you think about bilateral relations?

Indonesia, as one of our neighboring countries, not only has a close historic relationship with Japan, but also maintains close relations in the present trade and investment arena. For example, Indonesia plays an important role in Japanese marine transportation and is one of the largest suppliers of oil and natural gas to Japan. With its population of over 200 million, Indonesia, as a core country of ASEAN, plays a key role in the economic development and stability of Southeast Asia.

Japan has continued the economic cooperation for the sake of the Indonesian economy's stability and development. Among the many countries which Japan provides bilateral Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) to, Indonesia receives the largest amount as seen by the figure granted in 2000, which is about US$970 million, and the total given by Japan so far, which is more than $17.3 billion. On the other hand, in the bilateral ODA Indonesia receives from foreign countries, assistance from Japan constitutes 60 percent of the entire amount. It is the highest amount.

More than 11,000 Japanese nationals are living in the country and 1,500 Japanese enterprises are operating in Indonesia, making their combined efforts a considerable contribution to the Indonesian economy. A number of Japanese have established small and middle-scale enterprises here, in which they are sharing the joys and sorrows with their Indonesian partners.

Meanwhile, some Japanese non-governmental organizations (NGOs) based here have been conducting activities by, for example, providing poverty alleviation and emergency aid to disaster- stricken areas. Not only are young Japanese active in this volunteer work, but also well-experienced adults. Meanwhile, regarding the educational exchange, many Indonesian students are studying in Japan and the amount of students who have studied there number more than 8,000. They contribute to the development of Indonesia in various fields and act as a bridge between Japan and Indonesia. Bilateral relations are expanding and developing to such an extent that they are surpassing generations and covering many fields.

Japan is the biggest donor country for Indonesia. How does such assistance from Japan benefit the Indonesian common people?

The assistance from Japan covers a wide range of fields. For example, Japan extends its assistance for the construction of the infrastructure for social life including water supply, electricity, telephone and transport such as roads, railways, and airport. Assistance is also extended for primary education such as the construction of elementary schools and the development of teaching materials, and for higher education and the support of small and medium scale enterprises which aim at the development of human resources for industries. You might not often see the activities of the experts in those fields but they yield solid results which improve the lives of the people.

The Japanese cooperation also includes the anti-disaster measures environment protection, agriculture and fisheries for stable food supplies, assistance for enhanced health and welfare services.

Along with those large scale assistance, the government of Japan also provides Grassroots Grant Assistance which is small scale grant assistance that intends directly to enhance the welfare of the people through the activities of NGO and other bodies.

By combining its economic cooperation comprehensively, Japan has been making broad contribution to improving the living standard of the Indonesian people.

What is the ASEAN-Japan Exchange Year 2003?

On the occasion of his visit to ASEAN countries in January 2002, Prime Minister Koizumi proposed the concept of "act together, advance together" as a "frank partner", and put forth the idea of cooperation for "prosperity, stability and the future". As part of the "cooperation for the future", year 2003 has been designated as the ASEAN-Japan Exchange Year, and it is proposed that exchanges be facilitated not only in cultural and intellectual fields, but also in a greater scope such as political, economic, social education, technology and sciences. This idea has received support from ASEAN. To conduct an exchange of activities, each country will be designated as a Key Coordinator in each month of 2003. Indonesia will coordinate July (Indonesian Month). Therefore, activities in July will be focused here in Indonesia and, of course, during other months exchange programs will be held here.

In Medan, Surabaya and Makassar, a number of activities are also scheduled to take place, and we welcome your active participation.

Finally, what kind of contribution can Japan provide for the development of stability, which is vital to Indonesia?

As I mentioned before, the Bali bomb terror in October had a great impact on Indonesia, both in its political and economic fields. The Indonesian government has been steadily making efforts to stop terrorism. On the other hand, however, Indonesia is also experiencing the reform of democratization and regional autonomy. I am convinced that the steady realization of reform can further enhance international trust in Indonesia, which would eventually lead to the recovery of the Indonesian economy.

Furthermore, for the economy, it is necessary to continue implementing reforms to step up Indonesia's international competitiveness by way of fiscal sustainability to solve the problem of increasing public debt as an aftermath of the economic crisis and by way of improving conditions for investment.

Stability is obviously important for improving the quality of life and counts toward Indonesia's development. At the same time, it is closely related to the development of Southeast Asia. Keeping this perspective in mind, Japan, with the U.S. and others, co-sponsored the Preparatory Conference on Peace and Reconstruction in Aceh on Dec. 3 in Tokyo.

Furthermore, on the occasion of the visit of Prime Minister Koizumi in January 2002, Japan again made it clear that it would give assistance for judicial reform, police reform and for middle and small-scale enterprises, with a view of helping Indonesia achieve appropriate reform for democratization and regional autonomy.

With the spirit of "act together, advance together", Japan continues to assist Indonesia in achieving stability in a more accelerated form and moving forward powerfully toward reconstruction.