New focus for Indonesian foreign policy Omar Halim  ;   A retired senior United Nations official with over 28 years experience dealing with economic and social affairs, public information, politics and peacekeeping; He was also special representative of the secretary-general to Armenia and Azerbaijan on the question of Nagorno Karabakh and to Cameroon and Nigeria on the question of the Bakassi Peninsula

JAKARTA POST, 22 September 2014

                                                                                                                       

                                                      

Because of historical and political reasons, the “world issues” focused on by the world press have been (a) issues between or among developed countries and (b) issues related to developed countries involved in matters of developing countries. Historically, there have been developing countries, large and small, which have been able to sustain high rates of economic growth and this has resulted in their ability to “catch up” with developed countries, such as South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, South Arica, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya and others. On the other hand, developed countries have been growing at much lower rates and even at anemic and negative rates, such as Western Europe and Japan. Naturally, because the initial discrepancy in per capita income levels is so large, it will take quite some time for these developing countries to equal or exceed the income levels of the developed countries. Within a span of a few decades, developing countries experiencing sustained and high growth rates should be able to increase their capacity in developing infrastructure, human resources, technology and even military capacity. The establishment of the G20 indicates the recognition among the developed countries that certain developing countries should be playing an increasingly greater role in world affairs. It is in this context that Indonesia should take the opportunity to develop a new and different government and in the longer run, much closer cooperation and coordination with developing countries located in south and east Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Island countries and South America.  What is the basis of Indonesia’s capacity to assume this role? Concerning connectivity, the incoming Indonesian government has stated that it would establish an “ocean toll”, which means better transportation links between eastern and western parts of the country. This will integrate regions much more closely.  Another policy objective stated was a special emphasis on the development of the eastern part of Indonesia which, if successful, could significantly increase the dynamism and economic growth of the eastern regions of Indonesia.  The attainment of these two policy objectives will no doubt make the Indonesian economy much more integrated and dynamic. Not only would this result in the narrowing of the distribution of income and wealth between the eastern and western parts of the country, but by having a much more integrated and dynamic economy, Indonesia would be in a much better position to become a node of transportation and trade between or among developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, as well as with the eastern parts of Asia, which are predicted to be the fastest growing regions in the world for the foreseeable future.  Indonesia has to take the initiative to develop much closer cooperation with countries in the southern hemisphere, primarily because Indonesia has historical, geographic, economic and political reasons to do so.  After independence, Indonesia, together with a few other developing countries, established the idea of cooperation and solidarity among Asian and African countries. The idea is still very much alive and remembered by Africans. Later on, Indonesia championed the expansion of the idea of cooperation to include Latin American countries. In this way, Indonesia has expanded its relationships with African, Asian and Latin American countries. Geographically speaking, Indonesia could become the center of transportation and trade among developing countries in the southern hemisphere. With increased transportation and trade among these countries, their economies would be able to grow faster and become more dynamic. The cooperation among these countries could be expanded to include the fields of technology, investment, information, tourism and others.  If this materializes, developing countries in the southern hemisphere would be more dynamic, contributing to a more just world economy. Indonesia would become one of the countries contributing to this noble objective.  The Indonesian initiative will take some time to bear tangible results, but the incoming government has to take a first step now.   Indonesian foreign policy has to start building the required blocks to systematically interlace the political and economic relationships among the developing countries in the southern hemisphere. In the future, Indonesia will play a much more important role in world affairs. This is an opportunity that no other country has. This new initiative will be complementary to the existing foreign policy, which has to strive for Indonesia assuming a maximum role in world affairs within the existing conditions. ●