South Korea recognizes the importance of Indonesia\'s position and wants to further develop relations between the two countries.
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Kompas/Raditya Helabumi
A banner welcoming the arrival of South Korean President Moon Jae-in graces the entry to Lotte Shopping Avenue in Jakarta on Wednesday (8/11). President Moon Jae-in was scheduled to visit the South Korean shopping center during his visit to Indonesia.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – South Korea recognizes the importance of Indonesia\'s position and wants to further develop relations between the two countries. South Korea considers relations with Indonesia just as important as those with the four great powers, namely the United States, Russia, Japan and China.
As part of the commitment to strengthen bilateral cooperation with Indonesia, South Korean President Moon Jae-in chose Indonesia as the first country he visited after his inauguration in May.
President Moon arrived in Jakarta on Wednesday night and will be in the country until Friday. Today (Thursday), President Moon is scheduled to attend a business forum before meeting with Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in the afternoon at Bogor Palace. After the meeting, the two state leaders will have dinner together.
South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Cho Tai-young said with improved relations between the two countries, South Korea hoped cooperation in various fields could be further promoted, especially in the field of economy and defense.
"The level of bilateral relations has improved from strategic cooperation to a special strategic partnership. Only with India alone has South Korea such a high level of bilateral relations," Cho said last week.
As expressed by South Korean special envoy to ASEAN Park Won-soon on Sunday, the visit was also aimed at strengthening cooperation between South Korea and ASEAN. Park said that for South Korea, ASEAN\'s position was becoming increasingly important, especially in bilateral relations and economic issues. "I hope political and economic relations with ASEAN will continue to grow," Park said.
Yonhap via AP
South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
North Korea
In addition to bilateral issues, during his state visit, President Moon will also discuss the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula, especially the North Korean nuclear program. In relation to this issue, South Korea continues to be open to dialogue while supporting international efforts to impose sanctions on North Korea. For Seoul, dialogue must be sought as it is the best way to stop North Korea\'s nuclear program. “However, dialogue cannot be carried out for the time being because North Korea is not ready. We are waiting for them to be ready," Cho said.
South Korea hopes Indonesia can convince North Korea considering Indonesia’s close relationship with the country in the past. Indonesia is also considered to have the same philosophy as South Korea. "Indonesia\'s strong support of South Korea can become a strong message for North Korea," he said.
South Korea hopes the North will "open its fist" so that other countries can help it. By abandoning its nuclear program, North Korea could prioritize programs for the welfare of its people. "No country is threatening the North. Not South Korea. There\'s nothing to gain. We need security because we focus on development," Cho said.
In addition to meeting with President Joko Widodo, President Moon is also scheduled to visit the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery, meet with a number of Indonesian and South Korean businesspeople and attend bilateral meetings and business forums. On the occasion, as many as 13 memorandums of understanding will be signed.
At a luncheon on the sidelines of the business meeting, President Moon will present a number of Korean policies, visions, missions and philosophy about ASEAN. On Friday morning, President Moon will fly to Vietnam for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting.
As a partner in the region, Indonesia warmly welcomes President Moon. "President Moon’s visit to Indonesia is the first to ASEAN countries since becoming president. This demonstrates President Moon\'s commitment to bilateral relations with Indonesia and ASEAN," Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said.
Furthermore, Arrmanatha said the visit was also a manifestation of the enhancement of the two countries\' partnership to become a special strategic partnership. "The enhancement of the partnership aims to accelerate industrialization in Indonesia, which is a positive step in Indonesia-South Korea relations," he said.
In the last decade, cooperation between Indonesia and South Korea, especially in strategic industries, has continued to improve. Cooperation has been carried out in the development of the 4.5 generation of KFX/IFX fighter aircraft, the Cakra class submarine and the amphibious transport dock or landing platform dock (LPD) of the Makassar class, among other things.
One of the benefits from technology transfer is the ability of PT PAL Surabaya to produce two LPDs for the Philippine navy, namely BRP Tarlac and BRP Davao del Sur.
