Qatar-Indonesia...historic ties and common aspirations

The State of Qatar and the Republic of Indonesia are linked by strong historic relations, unity of position, harmony of vision and common aspiration for greater development, freedom.The state visit of His Highness the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to Indonesia, in the course of an Asian tour that also included Malaysia and Singapore, reflects the keenness of the two countries and leaderships to deepen and consolidate the historic relations between Qatar and Indonesia, building a promising future for the two friendly peoples, and further political, economic and cultural rapprochement between the two countries.Since the Bandung Conference in Indonesia in 1955, which was an important step toward the formation of the Non-Aligned Movement and came out with important resolutions in favour of the Arab issues, Doha and Jakarta have been moving in one direction and one track aimed at enhancing international security and peace, and serving just the Arab, Islamic and humanitarian issues.This is His Highness the Emir’s first visit to Indonesia at the invitation of the Indonesia leadership.The Emir will hold talks with senior officials on bilateral relations and ways to develop co-operation between Qatar and Indonesia, in addition to a number of issues of common interest.A number of agreements and memorandums of understanding will be signed in various fields during the visit.Diplomatic relations between Qatar and Indonesia were established 40 years ago, in 1976.Qatar’s embassy was opened in Jakarta in 1996, while the Indonesian embassy in Doha was opened in 1999.Qatar and Indonesia were keen on exchanging official visit and participate in various events of interest in both countries, such as Qatar’s participations in the 6th Conference of Ministers of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs in Jakarta in 1997, the activities of the United Nations Group of 77 on economic co-operation in Bali in 1998, and the Investment Conference in Indonesia in 2000.Qatar’s Foreign Ministry directed its permanent representative in New York to vote for Indonesia in case of any draft resolution aimed at the unity and territorial integrity of Indonesia, affirming Qatar’s support to Indonesia on the basis of the meeting held between the foreign minister of Indonesia and the Arab ambassadors in addition to Iran and Turkey in June 2000 on Indonesia’s rejection of the declaration issued by the West Papua Conference on the separation from Indonesia.In 2000, Qatar participated in Bali Ministerial Meeting to complement the Ministerial Meeting on Investment Support in Indonesia and the 4th preparatory meeting of the World Summit on Development Support held in Bali in June 2002.Qatar also participated in the Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations in 2014, the meeting of the central banks and monetary authorities of the OIC member countries in Surabaya in 2014, the Asia-Africa Summit in Jakarta in 2015, the Second Conference of Ministers of Labour of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation in 2015, and the World Islamic Economic Forum in 2016.In May 2009, His Highness the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani paid a visit to Indonesia.Meanwhile, Qatar has received many Indonesian officials over 20 years.Indonesian President Joko Widodo paid a visit to Qatar in 2015.Former presidents Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Abdurrahman Wahid also visited Qatar in 2006 and 1999, respectively. Abdurrahman Wahid also visited Doha on 2000 to take part in the OIC Summit.Over the past years, as part of the development of relations, several agreements and memorandums of understanding have been signed, including a joint report between the foreign ministers of Qatar and Indonesia on the development of bilateral relations; an agreement between the governments of Qatar and Indonesia on the promotion and protection of mutual investments; a memorandum of understanding between the foreign ministries of the two countries; news co-operation agreement between Qatar News Agency (QNA) and Indonesian News Agency (Antara); a convention on the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of financial evasion on income taxes; a memorandum of understanding between the two governments on the establishment of a joint fund or investment company; an agreement on economic and technical co-operation, an agreement on the regulation of employing Indonesian workforce in Qatar, a bilateral agreement on the abolition of visa requirements for holders of diplomatic passports, service and private between the two countries; and a memorandum of understanding between the Government of Indonesia and the Qatar Investment Authority on investment.The economic figures reflect the importance of trade relations between the two countries, which rose recently by 260% to $1.688bn.Qatar’s exports to Indonesia reached $1.231bn, while Qatar’s non-oil imports increased to $92.8mn.Indonesia is Qatar’s third importer among Southeast Asian countries, after Singapore and Thailand.The Indonesian labour constitutes a constructive co-operation between the two countries and has positive contributions to the country’s development.The country’s investments in Indonesia range from telecommunications to banking and others.