RI vows to restore leadership role
RI vows to restore leadership role
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
President Megawati Soekarnoputri vowed on Friday to restore the
country's international stature by consistently adhering to a
free and active foreign policy in dealing with neighbors and
other foreign states.
Delivering her progress report before members of the People's
Consultative Assembly (MPR), Megawati said she wanted Indonesia
to be a leader in the Southeast Asia region and be able to strike
a balance between economic development and the enhancement of its
necessary supporting infrastructure.
"A new pillar will be established as regards the institutional
and procedural aspects, which will mainly deal with conflict
resolution mechanisms in the political and security spheres,"
Megawati said.
According to the President, the strategic objective of the new
pillar would be to strengthen the existing ones, namely the Bali
Concord and the Bali Treaty of Amity and Cooperation enunciated
during the Bali ASEAN Summit in 1976.
"The concept of the new pillar is under serious consideration
both within and among ASEAN countries," she said.
Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country, was once
seen as having the potential to take its place among the ranks of
the "Asian Tigers".
Former president Soeharto, who ruled the country for more than
three decades, was also recognized as one of the most influential
leaders in the region.
The country, however, lost international respect in 1997 when
it plunged into a deep economic crisis that led to Soeharto's
downfall in May 1998.
With the country growing increasingly stable, Indonesia is now
trying to regain its international good standing by taking a
number of international initiatives.
Indonesia has tried to thaw the diplomatic stand-off between
South Korea and North Korea, and diffuse the North Korean nuclear
crisis. As ASEAN chairman, Indonesia has also taken the lead in
the attempts to secure the release of Myanmar opposition leader
Aung San Su Kyi, who has been detained by Myanmar's military
junta since May 30.
Indonesia, together with South Africa, organized the first
Asian-African Sub Regional Organization Conference (AASROC) in
Bandung, West Java, early this week.
Dozens of Asian and African countries attended the meeting,
during which they agreed to bolster cooperation between the two
continents, especially in dealing with international issues.
"We are building a strategic bridge to enable substantive and
concrete cooperation between Asia and Africa," Megawati said.
She stressed that cordial relations with ASEAN countries
continued to be the cornerstone of the country's foreign policy
Megawati also said that Indonesia's foreign policy was
directed at continuously reinforcing "a conducive regional
environment through better interaction with neighboring
countries, particularly East Timor, Papua New Guinea and
Australia".
East Timor was once Indonesia's 27th province until it voted
to break away from the country in a United Nations-organized
referendum in 1999. Papua New Guinea shares a land border with
Indonesia as it occupies the eastern half of New Guinea island.
"At a wider level, our foreign policy is aimed at boosting
interregional cooperation both with Asia Pacific and Europe," the
President said.
Indonesia hosted the fourth Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Nusa
Dua, Bali, last week, which was attended by foreign ministers or
their deputies from ten Asian nations and 15 countries grouped in
the European Union.
On the economic side, Megawati said Indonesia had maintained
and improved cooperation with industrialized countries with a
view to keeping and seizing market opportunities for the
country's industrial and agricultural products.
"We have urged the industrialized countries to provide fair
treatment in their import and export policies," said Megawati,
adding that some countries were employing various ways of
impeding the flow of products from developing countries into
their markets.