TURKISH-INDONESIAN RELATIONS

Diplomatic relations

Turkey recognized the Republic of Indonesia on 29 December 1949 and diplomatic relations were established in 1950. Turkish Embassy to Indonesia commenced its activities on 10 April 1957. It is accredited to Timor-Leste since 2003 and to ASEAN since 2010. The Office of the Commercial Counsellor was opened in April 2007, and that of our Defence Attaché in 1996. Our Honorary Consulate in Medan has been serving since May 1996.

Political relations

Turkey and Indonesia have traditionally been enjoying friendly relations based on historical and cultural affinities. We cooperate at several regional and multilateral platforms such as the UN, Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), Developing-8 (D-8), G-20 and MIKTA.

Indonesia, which is home to the largest Muslim population of the World, is one country where people of a myriad of different ethnic and religious backgrounds live in peace and harmony: “Bhinneka Tunggall Ika-Unity in diversity”, as the national motto goes.

This understanding has been reflected,inter alia, on Indonesia’s support to the Alliance of Civilizations initiative jointly launched by Turkey and Spain, back in 2005. Indonesia has generously hosted the 6thGlobal Forum of this initiative (Bali, 29 and 30 August 2014) which has been endorsed by the UN (UNAOC).

The relations between Turkey and Indonesia were elevated to the level of Strategic Partnership in 2011.

The close relations between two countries are also reflected in mutual high-level visits. The recent high-level visits are as follows:

* The mutual visits of the then President of the Republic of Indonesia, H.E. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (28 June-1 July 2010) and the then President of the Republic of Turkey, H.E. Abdullah Gül to Indonesia (4-6 April 2011),

*The visit of the then Deputy Prime Minister, H.E. Bülent Arınç to Jakarta and Bandung in April 2015 to attend the Asia Africa Summit andthe 60th year commemoration of the Asia-Africa Conference,

* The official visit paid to Indonesia by Turkish President H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on 30 July-1 August 2015: H.E. Erdoğan was companied by H.E. Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Nihat Zeybekci, the then Minister of Economy, H.E. Taner Yıldız, the then Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, H.E. Feridun Bilgin, the then Minister of Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communications and H.E. Mehmet Müezzinoğlu, the Minister of Health. The visit covered bilateral political and economic relations as well as regional and international issues of common interest and/or concern,

* The visit of H.E. Joko Widodo, President of the Republic of Indonesia to Antalya to attend the G-20 Summit on 15-16 November 2015,

* The visit of H.E. Numan Kurtulmuş, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey to Jakarta, to participate at the “5th OIC Extraordinary Summit on Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif”, which was held on 6 - 7 March 2016.

Economic and commercial relations

Geographical locations of Turkey and Indonesia present a chance for both sides to become trade hubs, benefiting from the opportunities of their respective regions. The potential markets of the two countries are equally strategic.

Both countries are members of G-20. They are also promising emerging market economies thanks to their young and educated population and successful economic policies decisively carried out by the Governments.

The economic relations between Turkey and Indonesia further developed during the recent years. The bilateral trade volume amounted to USD 2,271 million in 2014. Turkey’s export to Indonesia reached 228 million USD, while the imports from Indonesia was realized as 2,043 million USD. Indonesia experienced a trade surplus of 1,816 million USD with Turkey in 2014.

In 2015, Turkey’s import was 1,638 million USD, and that of Indonesia 207.

In 2016, the total trade volume has reached to 1.7 billion USD as Turkey’s import was 1,424 million USD, and that of Indonesia 253.

Turkey’s main export items are chemicals, electrical machines, iron and steel products, cotton and yarns, carpets and tobacco, while Indonesia’s main export items comprise of palm oil and its fractions, natural rubber, textile products, chemicals, paper and paperboard, television tubes, footwear, ceramic tableware, wood, furniture and electrical machinery and equipment.

Turkey and Indonesia established Joint Economic Commission (JEC) in 1982. The 7th JEC meeting took place on 17-18 September 2008 in Ankara.

The 8th JEC meeting will be held in the second half of 2017.

Private sectors (i.e. Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges ofTurkey-TOBB and Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Indonesia-KADIN) of two countries founded the “Turkish- Indonesian Business Council” in 1995. The 4th meeting of the Council was held on 1 August 2015 in Jakarta, in the sidelines of the Presidential visit of H.E. President Erdoğan. This fruitful meeting, attended by several businessmen of the two countries, was honoured by H.E. Nihat Zeybekci, the then Minister of Economy of Turkey, H.E. Taner Yıldız, the then Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey, H.E. Sofyan Djalil, Coordinationg Minister for Economic Affairs of Indonesia and H.E. Rachmat Gobel, Trade Minister of Indonesia.

Turkey attaches great importance to further enhancing and deepening its trade relations with Indonesia, which is the largest economy in South-East Asia. Greater bilateral defence industry cooperation is also a priority in this realm.

Cultural and educational relations

In 2007, sister city relationship has been established between İstanbul and Jakarta.

The Embassy regularly organizes cultural events in Indonesia and participates in international cultural events. In 2015, the award-winning movie “Winter Sleep” of the talented Turkish Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan was screened at the 2015 Europe on Screen Film Festival (01-10 May 2015). The movie received praises from the Indonesian audience.

Turkey grants scholarships for the Indonesian students under “Türkiye Bursları- Türkiye Scholarships”. The scholarship consist of a waiver of the tuition fee, and grants dormitory facilities, monthly allowance andhealth service. The students cover the flight ticket themselves. In the 2014-2015 educational term 70 scholarships were granted to Indonesia. Please visit the following web page for additional information on Türkiye Scholarships:http://www.turkiyeburslari.gov.tr/index.php/en/

Due to the intensive cultural activities and publications about Turkey in Indonesia, also thanks to the direct İstanbul-Jakarta-İstanbul joint flight of Turkish Airlines and Garuda Indonesia, touristic relations are also rapidly developing between the two countries. The number of Indonesian tourists visiting Turkey reached59,486 in 2014, which is roughly 4 times more than the number ofIndonesian tourists we hosted in 2007.

We strive to further strengthen our cultural relations by opening a “Yunus Emre Turkish Cultural Centre - YETKM” in Indonesia. Indeed, there is a most-welcome and ever-increasing demand by the Indonesian society for Turkish language courses and Turkish culture alike. We believe that the YETKM would be one best and most efficient response to such demand.