June 12, 2001 - June 12, 2002
June 12, 2001 - June 12, 2002
A Year of Philippine-Indonesian friendship and cooperation
The Philippines and Indonesia have always enjoyed a deep
friendship based on a sense of brotherhood as well as a sense of
shared culture and history between Filipinos and Indonesians.
Since the establishment of official diplomatic relations on
Nov. 24, 1949, the two countries have supported each other's
interests and national goals at the bilateral, regional and
multilateral levels.
Ties of friendship and cooperation were further strengthened
in the past 12 months as both countries joined hands in their
efforts to address their domestic concerns and face the many
challenges brought about by today's changed global environment.
It was with great pleasure and honor that President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo welcomed President Megawati Soekarnoputri after
she chose the Philippines as the first stop in her tour of ASEAN
countries in August 2001.
The two leaders discussed matters of mutual concern such as
separatist issues, cooperation on transnational crimes, trade and
investment, and the revitalization of the Brunei-Malaysia-
Indonesia-Philippine East ASEAN Growth Area or the BIMP-EAGA.
Noting that their fathers, presidents Diosdado Macapagal and
Sukarno, were like brothers, President Arroyo expressed a wish
that she and President Megawati should be like sisters,
supporting each other as they seek solutions to their nations'
problems.
President Arroyo's state visit to Indonesia on Nov. 12-13 last
year was of particular significance since the last state visit to
Jakarta of a Philippine president was in 1993, during the term of
President Fidel V. Ramos.
Presidents Arroyo and Megawati held bilateral consultations
where they discussed substantive ways to enhance cooperation in
the political, security and economic areas.
During the consultations, President Megawati gave her
assurance that Indonesia would continue to support efforts toward
peace and development in the Southern Philippines. Both leaders
agreed to work on the proposal for ASEAN nations to share
intelligence information on transnational crimes and to keep
tighter control over their respective borders.
The Philippine president's visit to Indonesia also saw the
signing of four government-to-government and 16 private sector
agreements.
The government-to-government agreements, the culmination of
months or years of bilateral negotiations, include an agreement
on tourism cooperation, an agreement on fisheries cooperation, an
agreement on the mutual promotion and protection of investments,
and an agreement on the long-term supply of coal, oil and gas and
geothermal energy development.
The private sector agreements cover a wide range of areas and
include an agreement establishing the Indonesia-Philippines
Business Council under the framework of the Indonesian Chamber of
Commerce and Industry.
Much has been done to maintain the momentum brought about by
this exchange of high-level visits. Through the determined
efforts of their respective governments, Indonesia, Malaysia and
the Philippines were able to sign an Agreement on Information
Exchange and the Establishment of Communications Procedures on
May 7, 2002. The Agreement is seen to facilitate cooperation and
interoperability among the three countries to address border and
security incidents, terrorism and other transnational crimes. It
has been hailed as an important step taken as part of these
countries' commitment to combat terrorism.
On the part of the private sector, Filipino and Indonesian
businessmen have been active in ensuring that agreements signed
during the visit of President Arroyo are followed through.
Businessmen from both countries would undoubtedly be aided in
their efforts by the Indonesia-Philippines Business Council,
which was formally established on Feb. 19, 2002.
The Council sent a delegation to Manila in March 2002 to renew
contacts made with members of President Arroyo's business
delegation and establish new ones for possible business ventures
in the future.
Members of the Council later met with Philippine Presidential
Assistant for Mindanao, Jesus Dureza, for talks on business
opportunities between Mindanao and provinces in Sulawesi,
Kalimantan and eastern Indonesia.
The Philippines is looking forward to another year of fruitful
and meaningful cooperation with Indonesia. The Philippines will
do its utmost in ensuring that the gains and inroads already
achieved in various fields of Philippine-Indonesian cooperation
would not be wasted but instead be built upon for mutual
advancement of the two countries.
As President Arroyo herself said after her visit to Indonesia,
"Let us boldly step through these doorways and reach out across
the seas for greater trade, warmer relations, mutual
undertakings. This is the key to stability and security.
"This is the key to peace and development."