Algeria will never forget Indonesia's help: Envoy

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."