Our two nations widen mutual partnership

Our two nations widen mutual partnership

On October 3, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the
founding of the Republic of Korea.

As the Korean Ambassador to Indonesia, I wish on this day to
extend a warm hand of friendship to the Indonesian people.

Since Indonesia and Korea opened official relations in 1966,
both countries have maintained a very close and cooperative
relationship in wide-ranging fields of politics, economy, culture
and so forth. In particular, the recent years have witnessed that
our bilateral economic partnership has made tremendous steps
forward, amplifying constructive mutual cooperation and exchanges
at various levels.

Indonesia and Korea have already exchanged state visits
between the Heads of State in the early 1980s. In addition,
bilateral fora at the ministerial level on diplomacy, energy and
natural resources have become annual events. There has also been
an increasing flow of two-way visits by the government officials
as well as by the people in the private sector.

At ministerial-level cooperation, the two governments have
concluded various agreements, such as the Double Taxation
Avoidance Agreement, the Aviation Agreement and the Investment
Promotion and Protection Agreement.

These agreements proved very conducive not only to enhancing
our economic relations but also to strengthening further the
traditional ties of friendship between our two nations. In
particular, the conclusion of the Aviation Agreement enabled our
national carriers to make nonstop flights between Seoul and
Jakarta, thus bridging the geographical gap between our two
peoples.

In addition to such agreements and exchanges of visits that
have obviously made Jakarta and Seoul closer, statistics
demonstrate eloquently how much bilateral economic relations have
been enhanced in recent years.

Two-way trade reached a record level of US$7.64 billion in
1997. Korea is now the fourth largest importer of Indonesian
products, and Indonesia has become one of the 10 major trading
partners for Korea. Bilateral trade has increased at an
accelerated pace in view of the complementary nature and the
substantial scale of the two economies.

Since the financial crisis facing both economies began last
year, Korea and Indonesia are doing their best to find ways to
curb the declining bilateral trade volume. For example, the two
countries recently agreed to arrange countertrade between their
private sectors on the Korean won and Indonesian rupiah currency
basis.

It was about a decade ago when a small number of Korean
business firms took root in Indonesia. Today, there are some 370
Korean corporations in operation.

Investment approval accorded to Korean entrepreneurs was $1.85
billion in 1994, $675 million in 1995, $1.23 billion in 1996 and
$1.41 billion in 1997 respectively. Thus, the cumulative approval
of Korean investments since 1967 amounts to $10.2 billion, on 479
projects, which ranks Korea as the eighth largest investor
country in Indonesia.

Aside from trade and investment, the economic cooperation
between the two countries has taken on a new dimension as Korea
has provided Indonesia with $101.7 million from its Economic
Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) since 1992.

Furthermore, Korea has provided Indonesia with about $10
million in grant aid and technical cooperation from 1991 to 1998.
During this period, Korea has invited 281 Indonesian trainees to
Korea and has dispatched 23 Korean experts to Indonesia.

More than 12,000 Indonesians are now working in various
industrial sectors under the Korean government's Technical
Trainee Program. Because of their high-quality skills and good
work-ethics, Indonesian workers in Korea are most popular among
local entrepreneurs.

Since 1990, Korea has dispatched scores of Korean Overseas
Volunteers to the Indonesian countryside. These volunteers have
provided the Indonesian young generation with the opportunity to
share development experiences and to further enhance mutual
understanding and friendship between our younger generations.
This program will continue over the years ahead.

Undoubtedly, a successful and durable economic cooperation
with another country hinges on mutual understanding and spiritual
partnership. This is why we need to redouble our efforts in order
to have a better understanding of the cultural background,
expectations and aspirations of other people, in as much as the
scope of economic cooperation is broadened and deepened.

There continues to be a flurry of activity between our
countries to promote the cultural exchanges of our two peoples.
There are increasing exchanges of visits by traditional arts and
music performance groups each year. Several Indonesian
universities are accommodating Korean language courses in their
curriculum. A radio program about Korea is being aired twice a
week by the national station RRI. This program introduces Korean
culture and language to Indonesia. Recently, as a step forward to
more dynamic exchanges between Indonesian and Korean academics,
Gadjah Mada University established a Center for Korean Studies
and plans to install a Department for Korean Language.

In 1996, our Embassy began conducting annual essay contests
about Korea. Last year, more than 1,200 Indonesian high school
and college students participated from across the nation. Among
them, 20 students were selected and we arranged a trip to Korea
for all of them. Their trip to Korea provided them with a chance
to experience Korean culture firsthand.

This year, we are again holding this essay contest in
cooperation with the Department of Education and Culture of
Indonesia, private television station RCTI and newspaper daily
Kompas. The participants are expected to come from all senior
high schools and universities across Indonesia.

The Korean people's affection and admiration for Indonesian
cultural assets is manifested in the rapidly increasing number of
Korean tourists flocking mostly to Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Bali.
For example, tourist arrivals from Korea reached 224,000 in 1996,
and 247,000 in 1997. These figures are now facing a sharp decline
due to the economic crisis in Korea, but we are sure of their
return to the previous levels in the near future. Personal
contacts as such are fostering heart-to-heart communications
between our two peoples and are consolidating the very foundation
of our overall bilateral relations.

Given the worsening regional economic circumstances, further
promotion of the cooperation between our two countries becomes
all the more important, and its necessity is being felt more
keenly thank ever before.

At the dawn of a new millennium, the prospects for our future
destiny are bright. Both our nations are geared up for enormous
potentials and we will achieve unprecedented development and
prosperity, as soon as our economies have overcome the present
economic difficulties.