Vietnam-Indonesia: A 55 Year Friendship

 

Vietnam and Indonesia officially established consular level diplomatic relations in December 1955 and then upgraded to ambassadorial level on August 15, 1964.

 

The relations of the two countries entered a new chapter since 1990, with a number of visits exchanged by top leaders, i.e. Indonesian President Suharto (November 1990), President Megawati (August 2001), Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong (November 2001), Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (2007), Deputy Chairman of National Assembly Nguyen Duc Kien (2009), Minister of Foreign Affairs Marty Natalegawa (2009), and the recent visit of NA Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong.

 

Friendly relations and multi-faceted cooperation between Vietnam and Indonesia also have resulted in positive developments in regional and multilateral forums, such as ASEAN, ARF, APEC, ASEM, and UN (Vietnam and Indonesia were also members of UNSC in 2008).

 

According to H.E. Pitono Purnomo, Vietnam and Indonesia have quickly become “twin brothers” or “two sides of a coin”, both countries have many similar features of history. This is a very important factor for promoting closer, multifaceted bilateral relations over the last 55 years.

 

Bilateral economic relations between Indonesia and Vietnam have shown remarkable upward trends over the past year. From 2001 to 2009, Indonesian exports to Vietnam grew 30% per year, and Vietnamese exports to Indonesia grew 23% per year. Trade volume in the same period reached US$13 billion, with annual growth of 26%. Especially, in 2009, the trade value of both countries reached US$ 2.5 billion. Trade commodities are crude oil, steel, paper, auto kit, spare part, CPO, coal, rubber, fertilizer, chemicals, etc. Indonesian investment in Vietnam reaches nearly US$ 198 million in 22 projects (ranking 6^th among ASEAN countries and 30^th among the total 89 countries and territories). These investments are in oil, chemical, coal, paint, plastic, automobile, poultry feed, footwear and entertainment. And, this is not the total value, as many Indonesian companies invest in Vietnam through Singapore.

 

In terms of investment relations, according to Mr.Dalton Sembiring, Indonesian Acting Consul General in HCMC, Indonesia is a huge consumption market with more than 240 million people. Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world with 17,508 islands making up 1,919,440 sq.km. There is high potential for fishery cooperation between both countries. In addition, some other fields suggested for cooperation by Mr. Dalton Sembiring include farming, rubber and palm plantation, and telecommunications and media.

 

Indonesia annually grants Vietnam scholarships in the fields of culture and language. In 2010, the Indonesian Consulate General offers 15 scholarships for Vietnamese students, 2 scholarships for media training courses (1 month) and 1 scholarship for a master degree program.

 

Indonesia includes one of the most beautiful islands in the world, Bali, while Vietnam boasts numerous landscapes, including five world heritage sites of Ha Long Bay, Hue imperial city, My Son sanctuary, Phong Nha-Ke Bang cave and Hoi An ancient town. In a recent visit to Indonesia by NA Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong, both sides discussed closer cooperation as well as sharing experiences in tapping tourism potential. The reality is that Vietnam and Indonesia still lack information about each other. “One other obstacle is that there is no flight between Jakarta and Hanoi, limiting contact between the countries,” emphasized Mr Dalton Sembiring. Now Indonesia and Vietnam are in the process of negotiation to open a direct flight between Hanoi and Jakarta. Once it begins operation, it promises stronger development of tourism cooperation between Vietnam and Indonesia.