President Tsai meets cross-party Indonesian parliamentary delegation
On the morning of October 25, President Tsai Ing-wen met with a delegation led by the co-chairs of the cross-party Taiwan caucus of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat, DPR). During the meeting, President Tsai noted that over the past six years Taiwan and Indonesia have signed 20 memorandums of understanding, as we continue to enhance exchanges in a wide range of fields. The president expressed hope that our two countries can enhance our bilateral relationship and contribute more to the world through continued economic cooperation as well as our joint efforts in other areas.
In remarks, President Tsai welcomed the delegation to the Presidential Office, and noted that they were the first group from the DPR to visit Taiwan since the outbreak of the pandemic, adding that their visit is especially significant because of the group's cross-party makeup.
President Tsai thanked the delegation for demonstrating their friendship toward Taiwan through concrete action, which has shown us their considerable support and expectations for Taiwan-Indonesia relations. The president mentioned that over the past six years, our bilateral relations have grown increasingly close, with 20 cooperative memorandums of understanding signed over this period and our continued, comprehensive deepening of bilateral exchanges.
The president pointed out that in 2016 Taiwan and Indonesia signed an agricultural cooperation agreement under which we have jointly established an agricultural demonstration area. In the future, the president said, we will jointly promote a crop production project and will continue encouraging young Indonesian farmers to intern in Taiwan to further increase our agricultural cooperation.
In the field of education, the president noted that Taiwan and Indonesia signed a cooperative memorandum of understanding in 2018 to jointly cultivate more Indonesian technical talent. She also stated that, after the last few years of educational exchanges, Indonesia has become the second biggest source of foreign students in Taiwan.
President Tsai mentioned that in addition to these Indonesian students, there are more than 240,000 Indonesian workers living here and working with the Taiwanese people. The president said that in the future, we hope to expand our cooperation with Indonesia to work together in Taiwan or in international venues toward regional development and prosperity.
President Tsai also said that we have seen Indonesia's active participation in international activities and its role in regional leadership, both of which are exemplified by Indonesia's hosting of the G20 summit next month and its assumption of the rotating chair of ASEAN next year.
The president stated that Indonesia has been a major focus of the New Southbound Policy that Taiwan has been pursuing for the past several years. She added that two-way trade between Taiwan and Indonesia last year reached US$11.3 billion, and said that she looks forward to seeing our two countries continue to enhance our bilateral relationship and contribute more to the world through economic cooperation as well as our joint efforts in other areas.
President Tsai again welcomed the delegation to Taiwan and expressed hope that we can work together to continue advancing cooperation between Taiwan and Indonesia.
In remarks as representative of the delegation, caucus Co-chair Dr. Mardani Ali Sera offered thanks for the opportunity to visit Taiwan, and said that over the past three years, he and his colleagues have been in frequent discussions with the Taipei Economic and Trade Office in Indonesia on how to advance bilateral cooperation.
Expressing his view that Taiwan and Indonesia are facing the same issues, including the pandemic, climate change, and the Russia-Ukraine war, Co-chair Mardani said he believes that, beyond regional initiatives, stronger global cooperation is needed because the issues faced by any one country will affect others. He illustrated his point with a metaphor, saying that, whereas we used to live on 200 separate boats, we now live together on one big boat with 200 berths, and added that the humanitarian bridge we want to build will be stronger than a political or economic bridge.
Co-chair Mardani pointed out that, while Indonesia is a large country of some 17,000 islands, more than 300 ethnic groups, and over 700 dialects, its open form of government allows its people to live together. He expressed hope that Indonesia can strengthen cooperation with Taiwan so that more Indonesian students can study in Taiwan and more agricultural and fishery workers can come to Taiwan to learn technical skills.
Co-chair Mardani noted that behind each of the many Indonesian workers in Taiwan are family members who count on them, and said he hopes these workers can receive proper care. He added that, with Indonesia's large pool of young labor, he hopes young people from Taiwan and Indonesia can work together and thereby make the world a more peaceful place.
Also present at the meeting were Mr. Mardani's wife Siti Oniah Warid and DPR member Asep Maoshul Affandy.