Indonesia

• Official languages: Indonesian.
• Geographical location: is a country in Southeast Asia, between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is the world's largest island country, with more than seventeen thousand islands. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and the eastern part of Malaysia. Other neighbouring countries include Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Australia, Palau, and India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• Administrative divisions: it has 34 provinces, of which five have special status.
• Capital: Jakarta.
• Governance: Indonesia is a republic with a presidential system. As a unitary state, power is concentrated in the central government. Following the fall of New Order in 1998, political and governmental structures have undergone major reforms, with four constitutional amendments revamping the executive, legislative and judicial branches. The President of Indonesia is the head of state and head of government, commander-in-chief of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (Tentara Nasional Indonesia, TNI), and the director of domestic governance, policy-making, and foreign affairs. The president appoints a council of ministers, who are not required to be elected members of the legislature. The president may serve a maximum of two consecutive five-year terms. The highest representative body at national level is the People's Consultative Assembly.
• Population: 267.0 million.
• Currency: Indonesian rupiah.
• GDP: $1.1 trillion.
• Time zone: GMT +8; +9.
• Telephone code: +62.
• Barcode: 899.

Political cooperation between Belarus and Indonesia

Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Indonesia were established on June 18, 1993. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations on June 18, 2018, an exchange of messages took place at the level of presidents and foreign ministers.

The Ambassador of Indonesia to Russia and the Republic of Belarus (concurrently) - Mohamad Wahid Supriyadi (since 2016, predecessor - Jauhari Oratmangun). Credentials were presented to the President of the Republic of Belarus on December 13, 2016.

On August 22, 2011, the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in Jakarta began to function. Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus to the Republic of Indonesia since September 2017 - V. Kolesnik (predecessor - V.N. Lopato-Zagorsky). Credentials were presented to the President of Indonesia on January 17, 2018.

On May 4, 2015, the director of the Indonesian company PT Utomodeck Darmavan Utomo was appointed Honorary Consul of Belarus in Surabaya (Indonesia). He officially took office on August 3, 2015.

An effective mechanism for bilateral cooperation has been established between the countries in the framework of biennial meetings of the Intergovernmental Belarusian-Indonesian Commission on trade, economic, and technical cooperation, as well as bilateral consultations between the foreign affairs agencies of the two countries. The sixth meeting of the Belarusian-Indonesian joint commission on trade, economic, and technical cooperation was held in October 2017 in Jakarta.

On May 24, 2018, the second round of consultations between the foreign affairs agencies of Belarus and Indonesia at the level of deputy foreign ministers was held in Minsk. Following the results of the event, the parties adopted a Joint Action Plan.

Since 2011, thanks to Belarus’s clearly indicated interest in expanding cooperation with Indonesia, bilateral contacts have intensified significantly. A number of high-level visits took place.

On March 18-20, 2013, a state delegation led by President of the Republic of Belarus A.G. Lukashenko paid a visit to Indonesia - the first high-level visit in the history of bilateral relations. Meetings of the Head of State with President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudoyono took place. Following the visit, the President of Indonesia was invited by the Head of State to visit Belarus, however, the visit was not implemented in connection with the change of leadership of Indonesia in July 2014. In June 2018, the invitation to visit Belarus was sent to the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, in a congratulatory message of the President of the Republic of Belarus A.G. Lukashenko in connection with the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

On April 14, 2016, on the sidelines of the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul (Turkey), the President of the Republic of Belarus A.G. Lukashenko met with the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia Yusuf Kalla.

Visits to the Republic of Belarus of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and a number of heads of line ministries of the Republic of Indonesia are under consideration.

Inter-parliamentary cooperation is actively developing between countries. In May 2013 and May 2015, Belarus was visited by parliamentary delegations led by speakers from both chambers of the Indonesian parliament. The National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus created working groups for cooperation with the ASEAN IPA and the Parliament of the Republic of Indonesia. The Council of People’s Representatives of Indonesia has a friendship group with the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus.

On September 17-20, 2018, an Indonesian parliamentary delegation headed by the Chairman of the Indonesian-Belarusian Parliamentary Friendship Group of the Council of People's Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia A. Sudrajat paid a visit to the Republic of Belarus.

In November 2018, a series of events was held in Minsk, including a seminar on the basis of BSU, the Belarusian-Indonesian business forum, the cultural and business exhibition Indonesia Business Expo, and the contact and cooperation exchange of representatives of business circles.

Cooperation is developing in the military-technical field. In 2012-2019 A number of meetings and visits of Belarusian and Indonesian delegations were held. The most significant are the visits of the Minister of Defense of Indonesia (2016) and the Commander of the Air Force of Indonesia in 2016 and 2017. Based on the results of these visits, the Goskomvoenprom developed an updated plan for cooperation in the field of military-technical cooperation with Indonesia.

Based on the results of the entry into force on May 10, 2019 of the Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Defense Industry, signed in 2013, a joint Belarusian-Indonesian MTC Committee will be formed.

The cooperation between Belarus and Indonesia within the framework of international organizations is constructive, the countries support each other when voting in the elected bodies of international organizations. In June 2018, the Belarusian side supported Indonesia in the election of non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for 2019–2020. (Indonesia was elected).

In 2015, Indonesia joined the group of family friends at the UN (Belarus is one of the three states initiating the creation of the group). As a member of the UN HRC in 2015–2017, Indonesia took a restrained approach when considering country resolutions on Belarus, abstaining from voting.

The legal framework of relations between the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Indonesia consists of 26 signed international treaties, of which 20 are in force (19 entered into force). Intergovernmental agreements - 8, interagency - 14, university level - 4.

Since 1993, the following agreements have been signed:
- establishment of diplomatic relations;
- cooperation in the field of trade, on economic and technical cooperation (the protocol to this agreement was signed on March 19
2013, the Indonesian side has not yet completed the procedure for the entry into force of the Protocol to the Agreement);
- visa-free travel on diplomatic and official passports;
- cooperation in the field of science and technology;
- avoidance of double taxation (signed on March 19, 2013, entered into force on May 9, 2018);
- cooperation in the defense industry (signed on March 19, 2013, entered into force on May 10, 2019);
- inter-MFA consultations;
- cooperation in the field of emergency prevention;
- cooperation in the legal sphere (expired);
- cooperation in the field of agriculture;
- cooperation in the financial sector;
- cooperation in the field of education;
- cooperation in the field of culture;
- Inter-parliamentary cooperation between the lower houses of the parliaments of Belarus and Indonesia;
- cooperation between the CCI;
- cooperation between the National Center for Science and Technology and the Directorate General for the Development of National Export of Indonesia;
- mutual understanding between the Belneftekhim concern and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Indonesia;
- scientific and technical cooperation between the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (expired, work is underway on a new draft memorandum);
- cooperation between Stolichnaya Television and the Indonesian news channel MetroTV;
- cooperation between BelTA news agencies and Antara News;
- cooperation between the BelTA and Jawa Pos news agencies;
- scientific and technical cooperation between the Belarusian National Technical University and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences;
- cooperation between Brest State Technical University and the Technological Institute of Sepulu Nopember;
- mutual understanding between the Belarusian State Agricultural Academy and the Agricultural Institute of Bogor;
- student exchange between Minsk State Linguistic University and the University of Indonesia;
- On cooperation between the Belarusian State Academy of Music and the Jakarta Institute of Arts.
- On mutual understanding on cooperation in the library field between the National Library of the Republic of Belarus and the National Library of the Republic of Indonesia.

Work is underway on pending draft agreements in the field of industry; standardization, certification of assessment of conformity, metrology and accreditation; health care; education; science and technology.

Direct interaction between a number of universities is carried out on the basis of signed inter-university agreements. Work is underway on agreements on training specialists in engineering specialties and on training personnel in the field of combating emergency situations, on academic and scientific cooperation between the Belarusian State Medical University and Khasanuddin University.

Scientific and technical cooperation is developing. On the basis of the current Agreement on scientific and technical cooperation, the Belarusian-Indonesian Working Group on cooperation in the field of science, technology and higher education has been created. The first meeting of the group was held on December 14-16, 2015 in Jakarta. The second meeting of the Working Group was held on November 14, 2018 in Minsk with the participation of the Minister of Research, Technology and Higher Education of the Republic of Indonesia M. Nasir and the Chairman of the Indonesian Academy of Sciences L. Handoko.

To develop the agreements following the visit of the Minister of Research, Technology and Higher Education of Indonesia, work has begun on agreements on scientific and technical cooperation between the Academies of Sciences of Belarus and Indonesia, as well as between the NAS of Belarus and the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education of Indonesia.

There are prospects for the development of cooperation in the field of culture. The current agreement on cooperation in the field of culture provides for the organization of the exchange of Culture Days.

Since September 2015, Belarus has been included in the list of countries for which a visa-free regime up to 30 days has been introduced. Since February 2017, Indonesia has been one of the countries whose citizens were granted visa-free regime up to 30 days in Belarus when crossing the border through the international checkpoint Minsk National Airport. Indonesian citizens also have the opportunity to visit certain territories of the Brest and Grodno regions through land checkpoints on the border with Poland and Lithuania without visas.

Trade and economic cooperation

Commodity turnover of the Republic of Belarus with the Republic of Indonesia in 2015 - 2019 (million US dollars)

Export of the most important goods from the Republic of Belarus to the Republic of Indonesia in 2018 - 2019 (thousand US dollars)

Import of the most important goods from the Republic of Indonesia to the Republic of Belarus 2018 - 2019 (thousand US dollars)

Export to Indonesia is formed by the raw materials, high-tech and food products of the national economy. The main volumes are provided with supplies of potash fertilizers, trucks, special vehicles, polyamides, dairy products, medical furniture, instruments and devices used in medicine, engines, parts and accessories for automobiles, measuring instruments.

A slight decrease in the dynamics of exports to Indonesia in 2019 was due, first of all, to a significant increase in the export forecast for 2018, when the record-breaking indicator of Belarusian exports created the prerequisites for the emergence of an extremely high comparison base in 2019; and the slowdown in the Indonesian economy.

In 2019, goods on 37 new commodity items worth $ 1.7 million were delivered to the Indonesian market. The positive effect of diversification was $ 1.6 million.

In the first quarter of 2020, exports of goods to Indonesia amounted to $ 38.1 million (growth rate - 81.8%).

Exports of Belarusian services in 2019 amounted to 56.1 million dollars, or 134.0 percent to the level of 2018. The balance is a plus of $ 55.5 million. The main share is transport and vehicle repair services.

Export promotion to Indonesia is carried out by its own regional entities of the distribution network of the following enterprises: in Malaysia - BKK OJSC, in Singapore - Belshina OJSC,
BelAZ OJSC, MTZ OJSC, Indonesia - BelAZ OJSC, and Vietnam - MAZ OJSC.

Taking into account the long-term, purposeful work, Indonesia's position has been consolidated as the fourth strategic market in the world after Brazil, China and India for the supply of potassium chloride, which ensures stable foreign exchange earnings to the country.

Indonesia's leader in mechanical engineering  BelAZ OJSC promote their interests successfully. In 2018, Jakarta created its own structure of the BelAZ distribution network, which, with the support of the Embassy, is actively working on contracts for the supply of dump trucks. A new dump truck model with a carrying capacity of 130 tons has been launched on the market, which has good prospects in the region.

In October 2019, a contract was signed for the supply of 8 mining dump trucks to the address of PT Darma Henwa Tbk, Indonesia's largest contractor, and it is planned to increase deliveries in 2020-2021.

In order to promote the Belarusian electric bus on February 24-25, 2020, on the initiative of the Embassy, a delegation of Belkommunmash OJSC headed by the Director Korol V.M. to Indonesia was held. Meetings were organized with the Governor of Jakarta, the transport operator Transjakarta, and meetings were held with a number of potential partners.

OJSC Savushkin Product and OJSC Babushkina Krynka are working to promote Belarusian dairy products on the Indonesian market. In 2019, the first shipments of milk powder and whey powder were shipped to consumers in Indonesia (574 tons in the amount of $ 0.6 million). There is great potential for these product groups due to the growing market and lack of local raw materials. Work is underway to organize deliveries in 2020.

In November 2019, a working meeting was held in Minsk at the level of the heads of specialized departments of the Foreign Ministry of the two countries, as well as the Belarusian-Indonesian business forum through the CCI, as part of a visit to the 25th International Specialized Wholesale Exhibition-Fair “PRODEXPO - 2019”, The Great Stone Industrial Park, High Technology Park, Belkommunmash OJSC organized business negotiations, which will contribute to the development of bilateral trade in goods and services.

In order to increase the degree of localization at the new plant of OJSC "MAZ" in SRV, work was intensified to establish cooperation with manufacturers of auto components - member enterprises of the association of auto parts manufacturers GIAMM, and contacts were established with market leaders.

On January 22, 2020, the Embassy held a Belarusian-Indonesian business event in Jakarta aimed at establishing cooperative ties in the production of automotive vehicles with the participation of Indonesian manufacturers and the representative office of MAZ OJSC in Vietnam.

On May 15, 2020, negotiations organized by the Embassy in the mode of video conferencing of the management of MTZ OJSC with a potential Indonesian partner interested in organizing the purchase of tractor equipment as part of the implementation by the Ministry of Agriculture of the country of the state program for supporting farmers took place. An agreement was reached in the supply for the certification of one unit of equipment “Belarus-451”, the obligations of the parties will be indicated in the minutes of the meeting being negotiated.

The competitive struggle of Belarusian producers for the Indonesian buyer is complicated by the presence of import customs duties for them. In the case of the conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement with the EAEU, Belarus will achieve a positive effect by increasing supplies to the Indonesian market of both agricultural and, to a greater extent, industrial goods.

The first step in this direction was the Memorandum of Cooperation between the ECE and Indonesia, signed on October 17, 2019 during the visit of the ECE delegation led by Minister for Integration and Macroeconomics S. Glazyev.

The initiative expressed by the Indonesian side to study the issue of opening an embassy branch in Belarus will help expand the areas of trade and economic cooperation.

In general, the successful implementation by Belarus and Indonesia of existing developments in all areas allows us to predict an increase in bilateral trade in the medium term.

This article has been prepared on the basis of information provided by the National Centre for Marketing and Price Study of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the Republic of Indonesia, and taken from public sources. The information presented herein is for informative purposes only. In this regard, it may be useful for the companies, which have been working in Indonesia for a long time, as well as for those, which are going to enter this market. Any questions, feedbacks and comments concerning this article are welcome. All of them will be fully considered and taken into account, if possible. If you have any information that may be interesting and useful for the visitors of this page, please write to us.

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