The Turkish president has said Turkey and Indonesia have agreed to start work to reciprocally abolish visa requirements between the two countries as a way to step up their strengthening relations.

“During today’s meetings, Turkey and Indonesia agreed to start preparations to fully lift visa requirements,” President Abdullah Gül told a joint news conference with his visiting Indonesian counterpart, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, at the Çankaya presidential palace following his bilateral meeting with Yudhoyono in Ankara on Tuesday. 

President Gül said Turkey and Indonesia are already working closely but that this latest visit will help these relations grow even stronger. He added that Turkey wishes for these relations to reflect on tourism and other areas, as well. Gül noted that the two countries had previously agreed to issue visas to both countries’ nationals at the border and that today work began on scrapping the requirements totally.

“All this shows that opportunities to cooperate are vast despite the physical distance between our two countries. I wish for this visit to be very successful and for relations between Turkey and Indonesia to improve in every aspect,” President Gül noted.

Noting that Turkey’s relations with Indonesia date back to the 16th century, Gül said there are strong and good relations between the states and peoples of the two countries. Noting that the Indonesian president’s visit is very important, Gül said Yudhoyono represents the most populous Muslim democracy in the world. “In this respect, we are happy to host the delegation of this friendly and brotherly country. We consider the visit a historic one and think that our relations will accelerate and enter a new phase,” President Gül noted.

Pointing to a large delegation accompanying President Yudhoyono, Gül said this shows the strength and importance of relations between the two countries.

Saying that it is important that two brother nations are coming together and getting to know each other, Gül said Indonesia will never forget Turks who rushed to give a helping hand to victims of a 2004 tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands in the Southeast Asian nation. He stressed that people from Turkey were the first to come to Indonesia to help the victims.

Noting that he had held a very constructive meeting with his counterpart, President Gül said they discussed bilateral relations, regional issues and ties in international platforms.

Both countries share many similarities regarding political views and economic and demographic indicators. Indonesia has the world’s largest Muslim population, while Turkey is home to a substantial number of Muslims. Both are members of the G-20 and hold similar views on international affairs. They are among the world’s most rapidly developing economies and are also members of the Developing Eight (D-8).

Stating that he and various ministers from both countries met on Tuesday and signed eight deals in different spheres, Gül said that Turkish-Indonesian economic and political relations are perfect

Turkey displayed its support for Indonesia by voting in favor of its bid to lead the Parliamentary Union of Islamic Countries (PUIC). Despite the ever-strengthening ties between the two developing nations, it has been 25 years since an Indonesian president last paid a visit to Turkey. The Turkish prime minister, however, has visited Indonesia twice, once in 2005 and again in 2006. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan’s 2005 visit to Aceh was to lend his support to the victims of a major earthquake and the subsequent tsunami. Erdoðan’s second visit came a year later to attend a D-8 summit in Bali.

Speaking during a press conference, the Indonesian president said it is important to advance cooperation and relations further in political, cultural, trade and defense areas. Yudhoyono said Indonesia is heavily involved both in the G-20 and in the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).

Also assessing Turkish-Indonesian relations in international organizations, Yudhoyono said he discussed with his Turkish counterpart coordinating their positions on a variety of topics in diverse United Nations forums.

Indonesia was a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council in 2008. The country abstained during a vote on imposing sanctions aimed at pushing Iran to relinquish its nuclear ambitions, a political stance Turkey staunchly supported for years.

Saying that Turkey has a very strong defense industry, Yudhoyono said they stressed the opportunity of healthy cooperation through uniting the two countries’ strength.

The Indonesian president said his country shares Turkey’s view with regard to Palestine. “We hold the same view about giving more rights to Palestinians and for an independent Palestinian state. At the same time, we agree with the idea that the human rights of people in Gaza should be protected and that humanitarian aid should be provided to the Gazans,” the president said.

Both the Indonesian public and the government have strongly protested Israel’s raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla on May 31 that left nine Turks dead. The Indonesian president spoke before the Turkish Parliament later on Tuesday.

News source: Todays’ Zaman, D-8 Media.