Message from Ambassador Edward Lee

Message from Ambassador Edward Lee

Singapore celebrates its 33rd National Day today.

Indonesia and Singapore have a long history of friendship and
cooperation. We are close neighbors. Over the years, we have
built useful institutional and people-to-people links. Our broad-
based bilateral cooperation built on mutual respect and benefit
has laid strong foundations for closer ties for the future, a
result of sustained effort from both sides. I therefore wish to
take this opportunity to highlight key areas of cooperation which
are manifestations of our close relationship.

Investment links between Indonesia and Singapore are robust.
Singapore is Indonesia's third-largest investor. Between 1967 and
June 1998, cumulative Singaporean investments in Indonesia
totaled US$20 billion. There were 769 projects, accounting for
9.42 percent of total foreign investments in Indonesia. In terms
of annual approved investments in 1997, Singapore ranked fifth
after the UK, Japan, Germany and Taiwan. The key sectors were
chemicals, utilities, steel, paper industries and properties.

Indonesia and Singapore have made major strides in tourism
cooperation. We have embarked on a joint promotion and marketing
program in an effort to promote Indonesia's offshore islands into
world-class tourist destinations. The development of the Bintan
Beach International Resort is a concrete tourism project between
our private sectors. By 2000, the number of tourist arrivals is
targeted to reach one million annually. Employment generation
could be in the order of 10,000 people.

Undertaking private-sector joint projects between Indonesia
and Singapore is yet another dimension of our bilateral
relations. The recent signing of a General Sales Agreement
between Pertamina and a Singapore consortium led by SembGas for
the purchase of gas from the West Natuna Sea in Indonesia to
Jurong Island in Singapore, in July this year, has added a new
layer of cooperation between Indonesia and Singapore.

Under the deal, SembGas will import 325 million standard cubic
feet per day of natural gas for 22 years via a 640-kilometer
pipeline. The West Natuna gas project will benefit both
countries. For Singapore, it will help us to develop further our
power generation capabilities in a cleaner and more efficient
way.

For Indonesia, this is an important project that will position
Indonesia for long-term growth and prosperity. The project will
bring about further development of Indonesia's oil and gas
industry and earnings of about US$8 billion over the 22 years of
the project from when the first gas is delivered in 2001. More
significantly, it signals Singapore's and international
confidence in Indonesia.

The gas project is a continuation of the close cooperation
between Indonesia and Singapore which has been demonstrated in
joint economic cooperation in Batam, Bintan and Karimun.
Beginning in 1990, with the development of the Batamindo
Industrial Park, the strategy of combining Indonesia's vast
resources and Singapore's international infrastructure has
benefited both our countries and our peoples.

Technical cooperation between Indonesia and Singapore is a key
component of our bilateral relations. In the 1997/1998 financial
year, a total of 175 Indonesians underwent training offered under
Singapore's Cooperation Program, ASEAN Training Awards, Singapore
Colombo Training Award, the World Bank and other Third Country
Training Programs.

The fields of study included maritime law, information
technology management, water supply engineering, housing
development and the English language. Several of these areas of
technical cooperation have proved to be very fruitful, and will
be continued in the coming years. Singapore will endeavor to
broaden this technical cooperation by venturing into new fields.

Human resource development, on which both Indonesia and
Singapore place importance for continued progress and prosperity,
is a natural area of cooperation. This will result in a higher
quality of workers, which is a key imperative to sustaining
competitiveness. There is keen interest in the ASEAN Scholarships
offered by the Singapore Ministry of Education for high school
and preuniversity students.

The ASEAN Undergraduate Scholarship Awards and other
postgraduate scholarships are offered by the National University
of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University. Private sector
bodies like Singapore Technologies and SembCorp also offer
undergraduate scholarships for studies in Singapore universities.

To nurture a stronger ASEAN consciousness, the Singapore
International Foundation (SIF) offers SIF-ASEAN Visiting Student
Awards annually to university students in the ASEAN countries to
study in Singapore for a semester. Such programs would lead to
more people-to-people contacts and promote mutual understanding
of each other. In the years ahead, I am confident that such
interactions will bring Singaporeans and Indonesians even closer
through friendship.

Indonesia and Singapore also enjoy excellent defense ties,
marked by close cooperation and active interaction between the
Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) and the Singapore Armed Forces
(SAF). Bilateral interactions through joint exercises, personnel
exchanges and attachment programs have increased and helped
foster friendship among members of the two armed forces at all
levels.

The joint Indonesia-Singapore search-and-recovery operations
for the SilkAir MI185 air crash in December last year
demonstrated the close cooperation between both countries. The
support rendered by the relevant Indonesian authorities, both
civilian and military, in the difficult operation illustrated the
excellent record of bilateral cooperation.

Another example of our defense cooperation is the close
coordination between ABRI and the SAF in carrying out the
Singapore Government's humanitarian assistance effort. This is
reflective of the strong institutional relations that Indonesia
and Singapore have built over many years of cooperation.

On a broader plane, ASEAN is the key institution that enables
us to maintain these close ties through a high degree of regional
and multilateral cooperation. Indonesia and Singapore can
continue to work closely together to ensure that ASEAN plays a
preeminent role in the region, as well as in international fora
such as APEC, ASEM and the WTO.

ASEAN has played an instrumental role in bringing about our
economic development in the first 30 years, based on the cardinal
principle of consensus (mufakat) through consultations
(musyawarah). Today, as ASEAN faces the regional economic crisis,
it must remain united and cohesive to meet these challenges head-
on, so we can all emerge from the crisis even stronger than ever.

The past few months have been most difficult and painful for
the people of Southeast Asia because the regional economic crisis
and natural disasters have caused serious hardships, including
shortages of basic necessities and reduced purchasing power of
many people. The Singapore Government has extended S$12 million
worth of humanitarian assistance in rice and medicines to the
Indonesian people to help alleviate their difficulties. This is
in addition to the Singapore Red Cross Society's S$5 million
humanitarian effort which was launched in July this year.

Singapore is committed to good relations with Indonesia not
only in good times but also during difficult periods. We have
consistently tried to assist Indonesia within our limited means
since the economic crisis started. We will work with the
Indonesian Government to bring confidence and economic recovery
back to Indonesia and the region.

I am confident that the political, economic and people-to-
people linkages between Indonesia and Singapore will be
strengthened in the years ahead. We share a common vision in
working for a peaceful, stable, predictable, and prosperous
region. We will continue to combine comparative advantages of
Indonesia and Singapore to enhance cooperation and build a
brighter future.