Welcome H.E. Vajpayee

Friendly relations between Indonesia and India have long been established, since the countries were still struggling for independence from their colonial masters more than half a century ago. But friendship and cultural ties between the two peoples existed long before the birth of these two Asian nations.

The moral values from the great Indian epics such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata have been instinctively adopted by millions of Indonesians, especially those who live in Java and Bali, as is reflected in the Javanese shadow plays or wayang performances and Balinese traditional dances whose characters are derived from those Indian epics.

Hence, it is right to say that the four-day visit of Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Indonesia, which began on Wednesday, will do more than just strengthen relations, as friendly ties between the two nations have never slackened.

During the 32-year rule of former president Soeharto, bilateral relations remained cordial as demonstrated by visits of three Indian prime ministers to Jakarta. And the visit by President Abdurrahman Wahid to New Delhi last year has emphasized the warm friendship of the two peoples and nations.

Vajpayee's visit, we believe, should be seen as a brief sojourn to a family member's home at a time when the family member is overwhelmed with a myriad of political and economic problems.

It is anticipated that Vajpayee's visit will elevate relations between our two countries to levels similar to the excellent levels of cooperation and support forged by the two founding fathers -- Jawaharlal Nehru and Sukarno. For this, the prime minister deserves a warm welcome.

His visit cannot be more timely now that Indonesia, a nation in transition towards a democratic government after decades of authoritarian rule, is grappling with its economic development and fledgling democracy ... areas in which India has had remarkable success.

Bilateral trade -- which last year stood at only US$1.4 billion, a relatively meager amount for large countries like India and Indonesia whose combined populations exceeds more than 1.2 billion people -- can surely be improved considering the complementary nature of our commodities.

Clearly, there is considerable need in Indonesia for transfer of sophisticated information technology where India excels in both software development and component manufacturing.

Likewise, India's advanced military technology, as proven by successful tests of its medium-range Agni missiles in 1999 and last week's tests of its multi-role combat aircraft, could help Indonesia's needs for defensive equipment which traditional suppliers have curtailed due to political reason.

Touching on military cooperation, Indonesia, which lies between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, has a strategic role to play in maintaining regional stability and comprehensive discussions and close cooperation between Jakarta and New Delhi would benefit both governments. Indonesia's good defensive capabilities will certainly help ensure security in SE Asia, while India's is good for the stability in South Asia.

Cooperation between Jakarta and New Delhi, we believe, is even more important now that the new U.S. administration has yet to formulate its foreign policy on South and Southeast Asia.

In the final analysis, it is expected that the Indonesian government would explore a wide range of possible comprehensive cooperation with the Indian leader, ultimately beneficial to both countries.