DM: Excellency, Indonesia, as the country with the fourth largest population, is the third largest democracy in the world. It is also home to the largest number of Muslims in the world. How important is religious freedom for your country?
H.E. Arif Havas Oegroseno: Let me first start from the legal perspective. Religious freedom is written in our constitution as one of the people’s fundamental rights. There are six major religions in Indonesia: Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism. There are also numerous indigenous Indonesian beliefs that existed long before the first foreign religion, Buddhism, came to Indonesia in the early 1st century.
Now, let us talk about how this freedom is recognised and implemented. Just a simple example: you see that all religious holidays are public holidays in Indonesia. So, Muslims will have a day off on Christmas or Good Friday, Christians also enjoy holidays during Eid al-Fitr or on the Buddhist’s Vesak Day, and so on. Only in Indonesia are all major religious holidays officially celebrated and observed, which is particularly unique in the world’s largest Muslim country. Other large democracies such as India, the US, Japan, and Germany do not have this practice.
Religious tolerance in Indonesia is the result of thousands of years of interactions between ancient Indonesian societies among themselves and with people from different geographical areas. These have created an open-minded society that shapes Indonesia today.
Indonesia is not only a founding member of ASEAN, but also the largest economy in the Southeast Asian association. What goals does your country have for further cooperation with partners in the region?
Indonesia has indeed been a key member of ASEAN since its foundation in 1967. We take great pride in our membership and always strive to make our best contribution to help it flourish. Indonesia reaffirms its commitment to strengthen ASEAN as a region of lasting peace, security and stability, sustainable economic growth, shared prosperity and social progress. As a region, ASEAN continues to show positive performance in production, trade and investment. The region’s economy grew by 5.2 per cent in 2018, reaching a total GDP of three trillion US dollars in 2018, thus maintaining its position as the fifth largest economy in the world.
The types of cooperation within ASEAN are highlighted in the ASEAN Charter. The Charter envisions the region as a single community supported by three pillars: political security Community, economic community, and socio-cultural community. In the area of trade and economics, ASEAN also reaches out by actively negotiating for free trade agreements in the Asia Pacific region under the banner of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). So far, ten ASEAN member countries, Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea are prospective signatories to the RCEP.
ASEAN is also the world’s fastest growing internet market, and we know how to capitalise on it. It is reported that around 125.000 new users from the ASEAN region are going online every day, which promises significant growth of the digital economy in the region. The value of the digital economy in the ASEAN countries is estimated to contribute an extra trillion dollars to the regional GDP over the next decade. ASEAN recognises that important policy measures and frameworks must be established to ensure a smooth implementation of the digital economy. Therefore, the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025, the Masterplan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025, and the e-ASEAN Framework Agreement have been formulated.
From July 13 to 17, Indonesia will be the official partner country of this year's “Hannover Messe” and will present, among other things, the "Making Indonesia 4.0" initiative. What can visitors to your stand look forward to?
There is a political-strategic roadmap that establishes a framework for the Industry 4.0 in Indonesia. On the other hand, there are some factories that have already arrived there. One example is the textile production. In Indonesia, we have a 4.0 factory that produces uniforms from high-tech materials, for example for the military or fire brigades. The transformation is underway, and the basis for this is our strong digital economy with its many start-ups, programmers and so on.
Indonesia doesn't just stand for tourism. We will present ourselves as a country that offers industrial development that is attractive for investors, and that can support the industry 4.0. We want to be seen as a country that is ready to take an important part in the global value chain. We are open for business!
We are curating 173 exhibitors including 23 start-ups. There will be presentations from our side on the roadmap and how the global industry can work with us to strengthen and accelerate our roadmap, and of course about the new government policy that is attracting more investment to Indonesia.
We are looking at five different priorities in different sectors for the 4.0 development in Indonesia: food and beverages, textiles, electronics, automotive and chemicals. Let me emphasise the automation sector that includes electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles. We already have mayor German brands doing business in Indonesia, such as Mercedes, BMW, MAN, and we hope to have a new cooperation with Volkswagen this year. We have been discussing with different industries in Germany to jointly develop batteries. Indonesia has the highest nickel deposits in the world, and we are now looking at downstream investments where not only batteries are developed but also the process of battery recycling. In this context, developments in the chemical industry play a very important role in our 4.0 transformation.
A Partnership and Cooperation Agreement was signed with the EU in 2009, and there are now discussions about a more far-reaching trade agreement. What is the current status?
The 9th round of the Indonesia – EU Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) was taking place in Brussels from 2 to 6 December 2019. It shows continued progress, with further text consolidation in most chapters under negotiation. As for the rules, negotiators managed to agree on further text consolidation on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), rules of origin, good regulatory practice, government procurement, dispute settlement, trade and sustainable development, investment dispute resolution, and several services texts.
The negotiations were officially launched on 18 July 2016 with the objective to facilitate and create new market access, increase trade between Indonesia and the EU as well as to expand direct investment. Our President Joko Widodo has set the target for the conclusion of the agreement by 2020.
In which areas of your economy do you see the decisive potential for the future?
Environmental issues are definitely very important. Our goal is to reduce CO2 emissions by 29 per cent by 2030. Another topic is air pollution due to many old vehicles. Here, the goal is to expand the area of electronic vehicles significantly: in 2025, the share should reach 20 per cent. And we can achieve this because we have all the requirements and raw materials necessary for e-mobility. To this end, we have several hydroelectric power plants near which we have everything we need to produce lithium batteries. This saves costs and, above all, energy.
At the end of last year, Indonesia was hit by heavy rains, floods and landslides. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis also threatened your population in the past. What countermeasures does your government plan to take?
Yes, being located at the “Ring of Fire” makes Indonesia prone to natural disasters, particularly earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis. In 2008, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) was established to replace the Central Advisory Board on Natural Disaster Management that existed since 1966. The Agency coordinates disaster management efforts including disaster prevention, emergency response, rehabilitation, and reconstruction. Indonesia has all the necessary infrastructure for disaster mitigation and relief.
Last year, the Government also doubled its disaster pre-paredness budget to one billion US dollars. Two-thirds of the budget is allocated for disaster response and the rest of the budget is reserved for rehabilitation and reconstruction. I can say that we are ready to effectively respond to natural disasters and to mitigate its impact to our people.
In terms of regulation, I dare to say that our Law No. 24/2007 is the most comprehensive set of regulations regarding dis- aster management. It covers the paradigm of disaster risk reduction, the mainstreaming disaster management, the budgeting, the participation of local governments, the disaster declaration process, sound organisational planning, as well as the people’s right to civil protection.
Germany and Indonesia work particularly closely together in the area of culture and education. Which projects would you highlight?
Yes, that is true. For the early decades, since Indonesia and Germany established formal diplomatic relations in 1952, education and culture were the main fields of our bilateral cooperation. Since the late 1950s, tens of thousands Indonesian students were sent to Germany to study engineering, aeronautics, shipping, railways, and other technologies. And we bear fruit: Now, Indonesia has the capacity to manufacture and engineer locomotives, sealift vessels, landing platform docks, frigates, helicopters and twin propellers air- crafts on its own.
I commit myself to further strengthen the education cooperation with Germany by sending more and more young Indonesians to study in Germany through the cooperation between the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the LPDP. LPDP is a scholarship and research fund established in 2011 under coordination of the Ministry of Finance. This endowment fund for education amounts to 3,5 billion US dollars. My task here is to recommend LPDP a number of reputable German universities to be included in the list of LPDP university destinations. I am fully aware of the excellence of German universities, particularly when it comes to engineering and technology. However, many lists of world university rankings for some reasons tend to favour Anglo-Saxon universities and don’t do justice to the fineness of German universities. I am here to change that mindset so that more Indonesian students would see German universities as promising study destinations.
Cooperation between Indonesian and German universities are also one of my priorities. The double degree program on Marine Engineering between the Hochschule Wismar and the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember is one fine example of our cooperation in education. Last year, I also managed to establish an agreement between the Indonesian Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education and the Council for the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings to ensure the participation of Indonesian young scientists in this prestigious forum and to share views with academic elites from all over the world.
My other priority in furthering the education cooperation with Germany is on technical and vocational education and training. During the Indonesian President's visit on 18 April 2016 to the Federal Republic of Germany, it was agreed that increasing cooperation in the field of vocational education became the main focus of the bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and Germany.
Revitalisation of Indonesian vocational education can be done through the formation of the Indonesian-German Vocation Training Institute (IGVTI). The centre will provide training services, courses (practical and theoretical) and opportunities for development in various fields in line with the needs and development of industrial markets. The vocational training services provided by IGVTI will be of guaranteed quality and recognised by the government and related industries in Indonesia and Germany.
Excellency, thank you for this interview.
INTERVIEW Markus Feller