Algeria will never forget Indonesia's help: Envoy

Veeramalla Anjaiah, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Algeria, an oil-rich North African country, will never forget the 1955 Bandung Conference and Indonesia's first president Sukarno, says Algeria's new ambassador to Indonesia Hamza Yahia- Cherif.

"At that time we were under the French colonial administration like caged birds. It was both the Bandung Conference and Sukarno who inspired the birds to be free. That's why, we will not forget Bandung and Sukarno," Ambassador Yahia-Cherif, who submitted his credentials to President Susilo on Jan. 10, 2005, told The Jakarta Post in an interview in Jakarta.

Inspired by the Bandung conference, the Algerian people, under the leadership of the National Liberation Front (FLN) rose up against their French colonial masters -- sparking a revolution that claimed an estimated 280,000 Algerian and 100,000 French lives. Algeria became independent in 1962.

Indonesia is going to host the Golden Jubilee celebration of the Bandung Conference and the Asian-African Summit in April 2005 in Jakarta and Bandung, West Java.

The Bandung Conference was organized in 1955 to promote South- South cooperation and help oppressed people to liberate themselves from colonial rule.

The FLN opened its representative office in Jakarta in 1956 and Indonesia supported the Algerian people's struggle for independence, a move that strengthened relations between the two countries.

In this historic context, the present relations between Indonesia, home to the world's largest Muslim population and Algeria a staunchly Islamic nation with Africa's second largest economy, seem natural.

"Our ties with Indonesia are excellent. Both countries' leaders have good contacts," Yahia Cherif said.

But these ties, which are moving at a faster pace on political and security fronts than on the economic, social, educational and cultural fronts, still do not represent the two countries' real potential.

In an effort to boost Indonesia's relations with Algeria, then president Megawati Soekarnoputri -- the daughter of Sukarno -- visited Algiers in September 2002.

During Megawati's visit, Indonesia's state-owned PT Pertamina signed an oil deal with its Algerian counterpart Sonatrach under which Jakarta will buy 900,000 barrels of oil every month.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the first democratically elected President who controls both the ruling and the once mighty armed forces, visited Jakarta in 2003 to strengthen ties in various sectors like small and medium enterprises (SME), tourism, fisheries and trade.

The stage is set for opening a new chapter in the history of bilateral relations between the two countries when Bouteflika visits Jakarta and meets Indonesia's first directly elected president in April to attend the Asian-African Summit.

"These high level visits and contacts reflect our excellent relations," the 50-year-old diplomat who speaks fluent Arabic, French, English and Japanese said.

Yahia-Cherif is an frank career diplomat with the courage to call the spade a spade in a world where diplomacy is more about evasion than position.

"I feel ashamed to mention the figures of our bilateral trade. We have signed some 23 agreements in so many sectors. It seems we lost our focus. Our leaders have close contacts. But these close ties do not yield much in reality," said Yahia-Cherif, who wants to boost the existing relationship with Jakarta to a level commensurate with ties on the political front.

"I do not understand why we are not progressing in some sectors. I want to focus my energies only on some key sectors like education, public works, SME, religious affairs and handicrafts," Yahia-Cherif explained.

In terms of value, however, bilateral trade has been growing since 2000. In 2003, the total value of the bilateral trade reached $326.64 million compared to $50 million in 2000.

The main reason for this surge in bilateral trade, according to Yahia-Cherif, was Indonesia's purchase of crude oil and gas from Algeria (see graph).

Algeria and Indonesia, who established formal diplomatic relations in 1963 and have some of the world's biggest hydrocarbon reserves, are both members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

Indonesia is the only Far Eastern member of OPEC and the largest exporter of gas in the world.

Algeria, which ranks 14th in world's oil reserves, is the second-largest gas exporter after Indonesia.

Indonesia exports coffee, plywood, tea, food beverages, textiles, timber products (handicrafts) and building materials to Algeria, a country of 32 million people that is heavily dependent on oil and gas exports (60 percent of its budget revenue comes from oil and gas sector).

Algeria, which has a US$196 billion market, exports mainly oil, gas and phosphate to Indonesia.

Thanks to the sale of oil and gas, the bilateral trade has heavily been in favor of Algeria since 2001.

Yahia-Cherif says Algeria, which opened up its economy to foreign companies in 1991, offers many opportunities for Indonesian businesspeople.

"We want Indonesian companies to visit Algeria and invest in our infrastructure projects like building toll roads, houses and office buildings. We are planning to build a 1,000 km highway. I heard Indonesian companies built beautiful toll roads in the Philippines and Malaysia. Why not Algeria?," the ambassador asked.

Algeria, according to Yahia-Cherif, can learn a lot from Indonesia in sectors like tourism, handicrafts and construction.

"Like Indonesia, Algeria is a beautiful country. Though it is in Africa, Algeria is a unique place where one can ski, or travel in a desert and enjoy our beaches," he said.

In the context of long-standing relations and the bright prospects between the two countries, Yahia-Cherif said, "We have shared our history. Let's share our future."