Ambassador certain of growth

Ambassador certain of growth

By William Furney

In an interview at the French Embassy on Jl. Thamrin, Central
Jakarta, French Ambassador to Indonesia Gerard Cros spoke of the
relations between Indonesia and France, how his country is
helping Indonesia in this time of continuing crisis and whether
"unionizing" Europe is something which could work in this part of
the world.

Please trace the history of relations between France and
Indonesia.

It's a long story. Java is in the subconscious of France.
There are many many references to Java, and also Bali: in
literature, music and art. For instance, there was a delegation
in 1889 in Paris where a Javanese dancer appeared for the first
time. So, psychologically, it's a long story. Our relations
started in the 1950s and we quickly became involved in the
economic field. The first main development project, the dam at
Jatiluhur, was financed by France. It was the beginning of a long
period of heavy involvement in development projects. There are
upward of 120 enterprises here now.

We are now investing in the service sector; you can see many
French companies here now. These companies are doing well here
because they are dealing with the domestic market.

Much has changed in Indonesia in the past year. In what ways
has this affected France's relationship with the Indonesian
government and people?

There are different levels: the macroeconomic level where we
are involved to a certain extent in the decision-making process
in Washington, with the boards of the International Monetary
Fund, World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Then there is
the level of bilateral relations. We've been obliged to adapt
ourselves to the new situation. The problem now is that there are
no big projects.

In the last few years we've only been able to help the
Indonesian authorities by taking upon ourselves their share in
the projects that are still alive. So we pay what is called the
local share.

There is a third level of adjustment: that of enterprise. I
have observed that certain enterprises are in a very bad
situation. Lots of companies have left Indonesia while others
have had to scale down. Those that have stayed want to be here
because they think that within five years Indonesia will be a big
market for them.

What are your views on the state of the economy, and the
embattled rupiah?

I think it's realistic to say that the ongoing economic crisis
will last for another three to five years. Once again, we're on a
certain wave of new vitality in the Indonesian economy. So far,
so good, consumption and exports are up. In our analysis, we
think that the rebound is here now. We're not worried by the
problems of the rupiah that much, as basically they are due to
political factors. The level of the currency does not reflect the
condition of the economy right now. We are currently organizing a
visit of a large delegation of French businesspeople to Indonesia
to have a look at the market.

How would you characterize the bilateral ties of the two
countries in the areas of cultural exchange, trade and education?

To be frank, I have discovered that the key element that
unites France and Indonesia is football. During the Euro 2000
matches, I was surprised to see all the people in the kampongs
watching the matches in the early hours. It was incredible. As a
diplomat, I have to be very humble and I think it's not
superficial to say this. There were a lot of editorials in
Indonesian newspapers saying that the unity of the French
expressed in the tournament, based on multiethnicity and so on,
could be a good example for moral commitment and unity in
Indonesia.

Apart from football, we try to have a cultural policy with
Indonesia, and are one of the few counties to do so. Part of our
program is based on the exchange of artists. In parallel, we
organize workshops with the movie-making industry in Indonesia.
We also have a program with certain universities and invite about
52 students to study in French universities.

In terms of trade with Indonesia, we are not at the top in
relation to other European countries. But I can say that we are
importing more from Indonesia now than before the crisis, mainly
due to the value of the rupiah. Fruit, textiles and electronic
components are some of the products we import. We are a pretty
big importer.

What aspects of these ties can be improved upon for the mutual
benefit of both countries?

I think we should make efforts with the young people of
Indonesia, especially through universities. One of the big tasks
of this embassy in the coming year will be to foster university-
to-university relations.

How many French nationals live in Indonesia and what kind of
services are they offered?

We have 1,923 French citizens registered with us. That's a
drop on the previous year's figure of 2,169. We add about 300 to
those figures for those who are not registered. Basically, the
decrease comes from people who have children and then leave.
There were about 70,000 French tourists in 1998 and this number
has dropped because of insecurity in Indonesia or in the Asian
region.

We consider that French citizens here deserve, by and large,
the same services they enjoy at home, and for this reason we have
a rather large consular section. What we call "sanitary
repatriation" takes up the most of our time. It's when tourists
get into trouble and we have to get them home. We also have an
allowance for those who get into financial trouble. It's a help
system -- a kind of social security. We have a French school here
and we give financial assistance to parents who can't afford the
fees for their children.

As France is a member of the European Union (EU) and is about
to fully use the euro, do you think the "unionizing" of European
countries is something that could work in Southeast Asia?

Not yet. You know, the European construction is a sort of
adventure that has now 50 years of existence and there have been
many crises and difficulties along the way. There were many
unexpected events, such as the collapse of the Soviet Union, and
this has changed the initial vision.

There are three basic elements of the European construction:
the first is the necessity and maintenance of peace. Second,
there is democracy -- the real participation of every citizen in
the decision-making process. I'm not sure that Asia is ripe
enough to go that far. Third, there is economic development, and
I think this applies to Asia now. As far as the EU is concerned,
we agreed that the settlement of border problems was a
prerequisite for the adhesion of newcomers inside the Union (such
as the Eastern European Countries).

I don't see in Asia the possibility of having such a system as
yet. In Asia or Southeast Asia, I see stronger coordination or
harmonization of policies. There is a strong need for evolution,
stabilization of the countries and the disappearance of local
crises. And, maybe, the consciousness that there is something
more important than Indonesia, the Philippines or Singapore; that
there is something called Southeast Asia.