OREANDA-NEWS. March 22, 2013. Indonesia is an important and promising partner of Belarus in Southeastern Asia. Closer relations between the countries will help Belarus gain a foothold on the entire market of the region. The issues were high on the agenda of the meeting of President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko and President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Jakarta.

According to Alexander Lukashenko, this is the first visit in the history of bilateral relations. “The fact that we have been gearing up for it for more than a decade in the modern dynamic world is a serious oversight primarily on our Belarusian side,” the Belarusian leader said. “We have a huge untapped potential for cooperation. And now we will have to catch up fast,” the Belarusian head of state added.

The Belarusian President is convinced that within the next one or two years the countries can triple the mutual trade. “I am convinced that if we correctly determine the growth points now and lay down the foundation to promote the relations in the long term, then within the next one or two years we will be able to triple the mutual trade. It is the minimum thing we can do,” the Belarusian head of state said. He remarked that the trade turnover of USD 133 million or even USD 250 million during the best year definitely lags behind the potential of the two countries.

Alexander Lukashenko mentioned several avenues of cooperation in which the countries are natural partners despite the geographical distance. In mechanical engineering taking into account Indonesia’s ability to raise coal extraction Belarus is ready to supply reliable and modern mining dump trucks. These vehicles have been used at the coal deposit in Eastern Kalimantan since 2012. A similar offer is available for automobiles (tractor trucks, dump trucks, buses), which have been designed specifically taking requirements of the Indonesian side into account. “It is important for us to offer export loans on attractive terms and aftersales service as part of the package,” the President remarked.

In addition, Belarus is ready for intense manufacturing cooperation and for setting up the relevant joint ventures. Belarus is successfully implementing such projects not only in neighboring countries but in other continents, too from Russia to Venezuela.

Belarus is ready to act in a similar manner in military and technical cooperation. Belarus offers an entire set of services from supplying modern armaments and the modernization of available weapons to the training of relevant specialists. “There are no closed topics in our cooperation,” the Belarusian head of state emphasized.

Alexander Lukashenko believes that cooperation in research and development should be an independent part of the bilateral cooperation. Belarus offers the latest R&D products in various areas. “Remote sensing of the Earth, mining industry, laser equipment and technologies, nanotechnologies, metalworking and metal technologies, mechanical engineering, including the production of agricultural machines. It is but a small part of what we are ready to share with our Indonesian friends,” the President said.

The implementation of joint projects in bio- and information technologies, agrarian sciences, food industry, and enhanced oil recovery looks particularly interesting. Belarus is ready to train top-qualification scientific personnel for Indonesia and also to start setting up educational bodies in Indonesia. The training of highly qualified workforce for mechanical engineering, technical, and civil engineering professions can become a priority.

As far as the prevention and alleviation of emergencies is concerned, Indonesia can count on Belarus, too.

“I am convinced that we will give a massive impulse to the development of the bilateral relations, cultural and educational exchanges, mutual tourism. In other words, to the establishment of ties between the nations of the two countries,” the Belarusian head of state underlined.

Alexander Lukashenko stressed that for Belarus Indonesia is an important and promising partner in Southeast Asia. “Your country is an influential and respected participant of international relations, one of the ASEAN leaders. This is why I have made the decision to open an embassy here,” the President said.

The Belarusian head of state was confident that the affinity of the views of the two countries on key matters on the global agenda should be complemented by intensive trade and economic cooperation.

“Intensification of relations with the Southeast Asian countries is one of the priorities of Belarus’ foreign policy. With this, Indonesia is the key country for advancing our interests in this vast region. I am confident that Belarus can make a so-called bridge for Indonesia to our neighboring states. Our interest is in ASEAN, yours is in Europe and the Customs Union through Belarus,” the President of Belarus said.

Alexander Lukashenko drew attention to the fact that there are already plans to establish joint industrial and agricultural enterprises in Indonesia, which will sell products not only on the Indonesian market but also in other countries in the region.

Indonesian President, for his part, expressed confidence that the countries can significantly boost the mutual trade and mutual investment. “I hope that we shall enhance our bilateral relationship. Belarus' membership in the Customs Union is an opportunity to enhance cooperation, as well as our membership in ASEAN,” the Indonesian head of state said.

Alexander Lukashenko remarked that one of the reasons to invest in Belarus is the country’s membership in the Single Economic Space together with Kazakhstan and Russia with no customs borders and tariffs.

“Our country offers favorable and business-friendly terms for investors, absolute safety of private property and clear-cut legal framework. Companies set up in Belarus will be able to reach out to the 170-million strong market,” the Belarusian head of state said.

Alexander Lukashenko noted that unprecedented benefits will be offered to investors who will start high-tech businesses in the Belarusian-Chinese Industrial Park.

“In other words, there are no barriers for materializing most ambitious joint projects,” Alexander Lukashenko said.

The heads of state discussed the most important matters of the bilateral agenda and cooperation prospects in the manufacturing industry, agriculture, science, education, culture, defense and investments. The partied also considered emergencies mitigation and cooperation in the international arena.

Following the negotiations the sides signed a package of cooperation documents.

In particular, Belarus and Indonesia signed a protocol to the intergovernmental agreement on economic and technical cooperation, intergovernmental agreements on cooperation in science and technology, defense industry, on avoiding double taxation.

The Emergencies Ministry of Belarus and the National Disaster Management Agency of Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance cooperation in emergency response and mitigation. The Justice Ministry of Belarus and the Justice and Human Rights Ministry of Indonesia concluded a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in the legal field. A memorandum of cooperation in agriculture was also signed.

A memorandum of understanding in innovations was signed by the technological cluster Politekhnik of the Belarusian National Technical University and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.

Alexander Lukashenko emphasized that the two countries have done a lot to determine avenues of bilateral cooperation.

“I am quite impressed about the contracts to supply Indonesian products to Belarus and Belarusian goods, from potash fertilizers to agricultural products, to Indonesia. The contracts signed as part of the visit of the Belarusian delegation to Southeast Asia are estimated at a total of USD 400 million. These are big contracts. It is a huge step forward, the Belarusian President said.

“As a result of the talks, Belarus and Indonesia have deepened their cooperation across all the matters of the mutual interest,” the Belarusian head of state said.

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has invited his Indonesian counterpart Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to pay a return visit to Belarus. The Indonesian head of state has accepted the invitation.

“This year Belarus and Indonesia mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. My visit and, I hope, the return visit of my counterpart will open a new page in the history of our relations,” the Belarus President emphasized.

The President of Indonesia, for his part, called the current visit of the Belarusian head of state a historical one because it will definitely give a nudge to bilateral relations.

“Our cooperation is increasingly vibrant these days. However, we can intensify relations. Strengthening of cooperation with Belarus in the future is a political priority for us,” the President of Indonesia said. He expressed hope for the enhancement of bilateral cooperation. “Belarus’ membership in the Customs Union opens up new opportunities for interaction for us, our membership in ASEAN will be a boon to Belarus,” the Indonesian head of state underlined.