German
Ambassador to Indonesia Georg Witschel is leaving Jakarta
after a four-year term in the country. The Jakarta Post’s Endy
Bayuni and Novan Iman Santosa talked with
Witschel about the development in bilateral relations during his tenure and
what lies ahead. The followings are excerpts from the interview:
Question: How would you
characterize German-Indonesian bilateral relations during your term here? Which
areas can be improved?
Answer: I can only characterize them [bilateral relations] as very
good, very cordial and very intensive. We have no major bilateral problems so
there is nothing I have to be concerned about. There were smaller issues, of
course, but nothing serious.
Looking back to the last four years, we had before my arrival the visit of
Chancellor [Angela] Merkel here in Jakarta, we had president [Susilo Bambang]
Yudhoyono visit Berlin in early 2013 for a state visit and more recently
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo visited Berlin in April.
We had numerous meetings at the ministerial level. The last one was when
Education and Culture Minister Anies Baswedan visited Germany in July together
with Kadin [the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry] to do some
discussions on vocational training.
Our foreign minister was the first to meet Ibu Retno [LP
Marsudi] after she was appointed by President Jokowi.
We recorded US$6 billion in bilateral trade in 2015. The overall trade was
actually decreasing the past few years mainly because Indonesia’s exports were
decreasing as commodity prices were lower. I estimated the trade would remain
stable in 2016.
There are some 300 German companies in Indonesia employing some 10,000 workers
with a total investment of $3 billion.
We have also started the negotiation for the EU-RI Comprehensive Economic
Partnership Agreement (CEPA). If everything goes smoothly, I hope it will come
into force in 2021 or 2022.
Germany is also the largest destination for Indonesian students in Europe with
some 3,600 Indonesian students. Germany ranked the fifth for overseas
Indonesian students.
Germany is also one among the few countries that has its own science attache
who mainly works on biodiversity.
What were your highlights during your
term here?
One highlight would be accompanying president Yudhoyono during his visit to
Berlin. Another one would be a meeting with president-elect Jokowi at City
Hall. There was a delegation from Papua meeting him, complete with their Papuan
dress. I shook hands with one of them before realizing that there he was
standing beside the Papuans. Pak Jokowi was just smiling and
said it was OK.
I would say one of my biggest achievements was increasing the number of
Indonesian students studying in Germany from 2,400 in 2012 to 3,600 in 2015.
We have close cooperation with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and
the Goethe Institut in promoting German higher learning institutions.
What is your general perception of
Indonesia?
Indonesia has achieved a lot. It is something to be proud of and confident.
That doesn’t mean Indonesia can sit back because the existing obstacles in
infrastructure, corruption, a too big bureaucracy, too many obstacles in the
business world, including an eternal issue of work permits, are still limiting
growth.
With the government I am fairly optimistic they are going in the right way.
They are starting to regulate, they are starting to enter free-trade
negotiations, so I am fairly optimistic that the 5 percent growth will be the
bottom and in the next years we will see maybe 6 or 7 percent growth. It is
difficult to say because of the commodity prices.
Compare that with my future host country’s, Brazil’s, second consecutive year
of -4 percent, and compare that to South Africa and Turkey, so Indonesia is not
bad.
In spite of Indonesia’s rise, it
remains relatively unknown on the global stage. There is an expression that
Indonesia “is punching below its weight”. Any suggestions on what Indonesia
should do to raise its profile?
Yes, I believe Indonesia is punching rather below its weight. We would like a
more active role for Indonesia worldwide, particularly in the Middle East and
to some extent also in ASEAN. I know Foreign Minister Marsudi is working really
hard to ensure that ASEAN centrality is being maintained.
There are some similarities between the EU and ASEAN. We have 28 members and
you have 10 members. Even with 10 members it is often hard to reach consensus,
particularly with tricky questions such as the South China Sea and The Hague
award, etc. We also appreciate Indonesia’s moderating role in regards to the
problems between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
On the other hand, I think Pak Jokowi has a clear focus in
developing Indonesia.
During my old days in New York, for example, in many meetings I knew my Indonesian
counterparts were very knowledgeable and very constructive, but hardly ever
took the floor. So maybe Indonesians need to be a bit more Batak in
international affairs.
Sometimes it is also a virtue being Javanese in international affairs, particularly
in ASEAN where there will never be open criticism. It is all behind closed
doors. On the other hand, sometimes one has to push harder in order to achieve
something. You have very good diplomats and foreign minister.
Can you give an example of where
Indonesia can speak up more?
One is perhaps the Declaration of Conduct (DoC) and Code of Conduct (CoC).
Indonesia is even pushing harder to move forward with the real negotiations on
the CoC, on the South China Sea,
In ASEAN, I believe Indonesia is in the right way trying to achieve a statement
on the South China Sea, not necessarily with direct reflection on The Hague
award.
Perhaps one area where I would wish to see a bit more clear language is North
Korea.
Georg
Witschel - JP/Endy Bayuni
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