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.