The India-Indonesia relationship dates back to hundreds of years and continued after the independence of both countries. This was especially evident when our founding leaders, Sukarno and Nehru who shared the same values of independence, freedom and non-alignment, later translated those ideals into the first Afro-Asian Conference at Bandung. During the past sixty years, the bilateral relations between our two countries have not faced any major challenge. Any difference of opinion remained at the level of normalcy and was resolved amicably. Nevertheless, the bilateral relations have remained lukewarm. This should not be the case given the similarities and closeness that we share.

First, there has been general ignorance among the Indian people about Indonesia, and vice versa. Second, both the countries have yet to see the urgency of intensifying the economic, scientific and technological, and social and cultural cooperation. Two of the most populous countries of the world should have much more in the relationship. Perhaps, when our two governments professed to the idea of strategic partnership in a Joint Declaration signed by the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and the Indonesian President Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during the latter's visit to India in November 2005, these concerns were among the considerations of the two leaders.

In 2005-06 the total bilateral trade stood at US$5 billion. The bilateral trade target has been fixed at US$10 billion by 2010. Do you think it is possible to achieve the target?

Yes, the target is very much possible to be achieved. We need to reinvigorate many areas of cooperation especially trade. Energy - including both coal and natural gas - can be a promising area for enhancing trade relations, since India needs energy and Indonesia has the resources. Following what has already been done by Indian investors in Indonesia, Indonesian investment in India should also be promoted.

What could be the reasons for limited Indonesian investment in India?

In general, both India and Indonesian investors should be made more aware of potential areas of investment. If Indonesian businessmen can invest in China and European countries, they can also invest in India.
Indian regulations on investment have yet to become more appealing to Indonesian companies so as to increase their interest and, later, their presence in India.

As for Indian investment in Indonesia, there is now a trend for Indian investors to utilize India's soft loan offers for investments in Indonesia. This scheme, however, might take some time to be acceptable to Indonesia due to the nature of such loans, which are currently not viable options for the Indonesian government in the implementation of foreign direct investment in Indonesia, as opposed to the more favored grants.

What are the possible sources for energy supplies to India in Indonesia?

Indonesia can provide natural gas from Aceh, and copper and nickel from Irian Jaya to India.

Does Indonesia prefer ASEAN-India FTA or the bilateral India-Indonesia FTA? Both are in the process of negotiations. Which way would Indonesia choose to go?

Indonesia has committed itself to the ASEAN process. There are also bilateral concerns which need to be addressed. In terms of bilateral trade relations, there are various other matters, some of which need to be prioritized. Both the processes do not coincide or contradict one another. There would be a time when both the countries would be able to make adjustments to make sure that both the processes go smoothly.

The deadline set for ASEAN-India FTA is July 2007. Do you think that both the sides will be able to get the deal going in the coming four months?

As happens in other negotiations, the time will come when the parties will take stock of the negotiation process in terms of what has been achieved. Let the leaders decide and adjust to the coming situation. If there are good reasons for extension of the time limit, then the time limit can be extended. This has been the case in the past. We are all aware of the hundreds of issues which all the parties need to decide but the time is limited. The more important matter is the willingness of all parties concerned to spare no efforts in finding convergence of ideas on the various issues.

During the last one year, the issue of Myanmar has become urgent given the fact that the matter is being deliberated in the UN Security Council. Is it possible for both India and Indonesia to come together and not just persuade Myanmar to go easy on human rights situations but at the same time create a situation in which the international community especially the western world does not impose its will on Myanmar and push Myanmar to the corner?

It is possible and logical for India and Indonesia to take such initiatives. As a matter of fact, ASEAN has always been appealing to the Myanmarese government to improve the human rights situations domestically. Myanmar has for long been ruled by a military junta. If that is the way the country is to be run and governed, we do have to respect that. ASEAN has already implemented the policy of constructive engagement with Myanmar and state sovereignty needs to be respected. However, human rights issues are in urgent need of being addressed.

There is a greater need to have a balanced perspective on the entire issue of democratization in Myanmar. People in the West do not care since they are distant. Both India and Indonesia are very close to Myanmar and if anything happens, the impact can affect us directly compared to other countries which are more distant and not in proximity. Therefore, there is a need for caution and balance.

Both India and Indonesia suffer from similar non-traditional security challenges such as terrorism and piracy. What steps have India and Indonesia taken together to address these problems?

Both countries are aware of the problems and the militaries of the two countries are working together through various exchange programmes such as joint naval patrol. Both India and Indonesia have been victims of the terrorism in the past. These matters are being discussed not only in the bilateral forums but also in other regional forums.

There is no direct air service by the Gardua airlines and Air India flies only once in a week. The visa regime has also been tough, causing problems for Indian traders and businessmen. What steps have the two countries taken to improve the connectivity between the two countries?

Indonesia has given visa on arrival facility to Indian citizens from last year. India has reciprocated in the sense that Indonesian officials do not need to get visa to come to India for a certain timeframe. But India has yet to give the 'visa on arrival' facility to common Indonesian citizens.

The matter of Garuda is one that we have been seriously looking into for years so that the Garuda resumes its flight from Jakarta to Mumbai which first started in the 1960s and had to be terminated in 1998 after Indonesia was hit by the economic crisis. It has considerably reduced the inflow of Indian tourists to Indonesia. Compared to Singapore and Thailand, the number of Indian tourists coming to Indonesia is very low despite the world famous Bali as a tourist destination.

Two months ago the embassy was really pleased to know that the Garuda is going to close down some of its current destinations and resume older ones, one of which is India.

If you have to identify three new areas where India and Indonesia should cooperate, what areas would you suggest?

I would like to pinpoint tourism as one of the most important sectors where cooperation should be enhanced. The numbers have really been not too encouraging since Indonesia is a larger country than Thailand and Singapore which attract more Indian tourists.

Education can be another important area for cooperation. Indian education is a low-cost and high-standard affair. There are more South Korean and Thai students in India than Indonesians. We have been 'wasting our time' by being complacent with our relations since there has not been any problem in our relations.

On what two important issues would you like both India and Indonesia to work together in international politics?

One of the areas that need to be preserved and enhanced is of non-alignment as a force in the matters of development to minimize the gap between the rich nations and poor nations. There are other issues such as issues of terrorism, issues of UN restructuring but these should not overtake our efforts to make a better world for developing countries through non-alignment.