Turkey and Indonesia: Two “Zero Policies” Add Up to a Positive   

Turkey and Indonesia have a long history of relations dating back to the 16^th century when the Ottoman Empire, at its height, supported various Muslim sultanates, including Aceh, in their struggle against Western colonial expansion in Southeast Asia. Five centuries later, these two democratic, predominantly Muslim countries, guided by their “zero” foreign policies (“Zero problems with neighbors”, and “Zero enemies, million friends”, respectively) are trying not only to lay a new foundation for their bilateral relations, but also to use their vast potential for the benefit of the global community.

Turkey, the 17^th largest world economy, and Indonesia, the third largest world democracy, share many similarities, which provide a fertile ground for intensifying mutual cooperation and implementing their common vision of the globe. Both are secular, tolerant and pluralistic countries, together comprising almost 1/5 of the world’s Islamic population, while Indonesia alone is home to the world’s largest Muslim majority. They hold similar views on international affairs (reforming world economy, tackling global challenges, promoting tolerance, resolving the Middle East’s Gordian knot, etc), and are members of several major world forums, such as the G-20 and the Organization of Islamic Conference. They are also part of the Developing Eight (D8), an organization gathering countries of increasing importance, such as Malaysia and Nigeria. At the same time, their economies are among the most robust in the world, successfully resisting the global economic crisis. Last but not least, both countries perceive each other as gateways – Indonesia considers Turkey, with its emerging “New Ottoman Economic Space”, and foreseen fastest economic growth within the OECD, as the gateway to Europe, Middle East and Western and Central Asia, while Turkey looks at a booming and increasingly self-confident Indonesia as the gateway to Southeast Asia. Both countries are rapidly changing their roles from being peripheral powers to entering the elite league of the 21st century’s pivotal nations.

Therefore, it comes with no surprise that Turkey has placed Indonesia at the center of its “Strategy to Improve Commercial and Economic Relations with Asia Pacific Countries”. The main goal of the strategy is to strengthen economic cooperation by increasing trade, diversifying export, and promoting investment. It foresees a wide range of business activities that should built upon compatibility between the two economies, illustrated by President’s Yudhoyono’s words on making “a match-up between (Indonesia’s) mineral resources and the industrial needs of Turkey.” Special emphasis was put on the potential for employing Turkey’s experience in using energy in exploiting Indonesia’s underutilized vast geothermal resources, comprising 40% of the world’s reserves.

The visit of Indonesia’s President to Turkey in the summer 2010, when the aforementioned words were spoken, marked the turning point in relations between the two countries. It resulted in the signing eight important agreements in areas of investment, defense, technical cooperation, small and medium enterprises, human resource development, maritime transportation, media, and cultural exchange. However, more important than the very agreements, was the tone set by both parties, as well as the potential areas of cooperation laid out in President’s Yudhoyono’s speech delivered in the Turkish parliament, an institution with an almost century and a half long history.

Having in mind the current situation in Egypt, one of these potential areas of cooperation, “promotion of democracy”, deserves to be shed particular light on. Even though President Yudhoyono clearly stated that democracy promotion does not encompass exporting it, but rather “leading by the power of example”, the ongoing unrest in Egypt gives both countries a good opportunity to strengthen their credentials as “beacons of democracy in the Muslim world” by sending a clear, balanced “democratic signal” both to the Cairo regime and the protesters. However, such a reaction is still lacking – the furthest their officials went is embodied in the classical diplomatic phrase about “not interfering in internal affairs” pronounced by the Turkish foreign minister Davutoglu late last week. Without a doubt, a joint “democratic message” that would reiterate and reinforce President Yudhoyouno’s Ankara statement that “democracy can deliver the benefits of socio­economic development”, which Indonesia and Turkey are best examples of, would further increase the international stature of these countries. Otherwise, the policy of narrowly conceived “zero problems” could easily turn into one of “zero results”.

In conclusion, the last year was marked by Turkey’s offensive towards Southeast Asia which finally resulted in tangible materialization of its Asia-Pacific strategy adopted four years earlier. Besides the historic visit of the Indonesian President, another important milestone in its “Look Southeast” policy was the signing of the ASEAN’s Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) that will further deepen its political, economic and cultural ties in the region. We are all waiting to witness new “serious initiatives in Southeast Asia” which the Turkish foreign minister announced during his Thai counterpart’s visit to Ankara last December. There will be no surprise if Indonesia, the new ASEAN chair, and the engine of regional integration, would be at the center of these initiatives.

(Jovan Jovanovic/From the Epicenter)