Vice-President Hamid Ansari on Sunday said that key agreements in maritime security cooperation, bilateral trade and cultural exchange would be soon signed with Indonesia, the “single-most important and biggest country in ASEAN, and a key strategic partner.”
Mr. Ansari underlined that there were three crucial MoUs under consideration in Jakarta. One was a collaboration between the AYUSH Ministry and Bali’s Uddiyana University in the field of Ayurveda. Another pertained to the cultural exchange programme. Notes would be exchanged on the Extradition Treaty signed in 2011.
The firming up of the pact assumes greater significance in the light of the recent nabbing of international gangster Chhota Rajan in Bali.
Speaking to the media aboard the Vice-President’s Aircraft, Mr. Ansari stressed that Indonesia and Brunei had been “extremely supportive of Indian efforts in ASEAN.” He added that the invitation by his Indonesian counterpart Jusuf Kalla was the latest iteration of the strong relationship that had been cultivated by successive leaderships of the historical neighbours.
He added, “All in all, it is a happy relationship. But like all friendships, they have to be renewed periodically.”
Mr. Ansari lamented that “by accident rather than design,” this happened to be the first Indian high-level bilateral visit to the Kingdom of Brunei, which was a key source of crude oil and home to around 10,000 Indian expatriates. The last visit by an Indian dignitary was in October 2013, when then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Bandar Seri Begawan to attend the 11th ASEAN-India Summit.
Mr. Ansari is scheduled to visit Bandar Seri Begawan on November 4 and meet Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and the crown-prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah.
Mr. Ansari said India’s total trade with the resource-rich Indonesia came to the tune of $20 billion and total investments to $15 billion. He hoped that as Indonesia prospered, it would be able to reciprocate on the investment front. Palm oil and coal form the largest chunk of imports from Indonesia – both commodities were essential requirements for our food economy, the Vice-President pointed out.
Vice-President Hamid Ansari and his wife Salma arrive at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta on Sunday. Photo: Mihir Balantrapu
Common interests
He said there were two dimensions to the security cooperation. One, at the level of Defence Ministries and the armed forces with respect to Indonesia being a pivot in the three critical waterways, the Straits of Malacca, Sunda and Lombok. And the other, with respect to internal security: “We are happy with the level of cooperation that exists.”
Asked how much this visit would prioritise the strengthening of cooperation with Indonesia as a counterweight to China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea, the Vice-President stressed that the 21st century diplomacy would work on commonality of interests: “I don’t think we should be in the business of counter-balancing. We develop our own relations on our own momentum. Indonesia is nearly half – or more – of the ASEAN region. It stands on its own. So, the idea of mitigating China’s assertiveness is outdated.”
He indicated that India shared a convergence of interests with its South-East Asian neighbours – in the strategic, political, economic domains. As also historical links.
In Jakarta, the first stop on his five-day visit to Indonesia and Brunei, Mr. Ansari visited the Masjid Istiqlal, the largest mosque in South-East Asia. He and his wife Salma were received by Deputy Foreign Minister Abdurrahman Mohammad Fachir.
