Jakarta, MINA – French Ambassador to Indonesia Olivier Chambard hopes that bilateral relations between Indonesia and French will continue to be strengthened and enhanced by optimizing the potential for existing cooperation.
“France and Indonesia have had friendly relations and cooperation for a long time. The two countries have the same aspirations about a world order that is more just, more transparent, more democratic and about a more solid multilateral system,” said Ambassador Chambard in a special interview with the MINA team in Jakarta on Wednesday.
He explained that the special relationship has been part of a strategic partnership since 2011. The Strategic Partnership focuses on consolidating bilateral cooperation in the fields of politics and security, economy, development, education and culture, as well as expanding exchanges between civil society.
“This is also an important element in developing relations between France and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN),” he said.
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These bilateral exchanges are held regularly, within the framework of various international meetings and forums attended by the two countries such as the UN, G7 and G20.
This year, continued Ambassador Chambard, France and Indonesia are celebrating the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Therefore this year is very meaningful for the bilateral partnership between the two countries.
“France and Indonesia believe that global challenges such as climate change, eradicating terrorism, radicalism and extremism, as well as disarmament can be carried out effectively, through a multilateral approach,” he added.
Ambassador Chambard said that in this context, the two countries recognized the greater role played by the United Nations, to maintain international peace and security, and to advance fundamental rights and freedoms.
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“They support each other in elections in various international organizations, for example the Human Rights Council,” he added.
According to Ambassador Chambard, climate change is a major area of cooperation between the two countries. Since the Paris Climate Agreement, France has had regular dialogues with Indonesia, discussing natural risk management, “green” technology and sustainable agriculture, which is realized through seminars and joint research projects.
France and Indonesia are two Indo-Pacific countries. Like Indonesia, which is at a strategic meeting between the Indonesian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, France is present in both oceans, with five regions and 1.5 million citizens. France is the second largest maritime power in the world after the United States.
Regarding French investment in Indonesia, the Ambassador said that his country was ranked 19th, and for European countries it was ranked 5th, after the Netherlands, Britain, Switzerland and Germany.
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At the implementation of the Indonesia Infrastructure Investment Forum (lIF) organized by the Indonesian Embassy in Paris and the French Entrepreneurs Association MEDEF International, Indonesia proposed 41 large infrastructure projects to French investors whose value reached 440 billion USD in various sectors, including the transportation sector, electricity, logistics and environmentally friendly urban development.
“These are sectors that can be developed between our two countries, where French expertise is not limited to one project. The fields of academic and vocational training as well as technology transfer are very important in our relationship with Indonesia, “said Ambassador Chambard. (L / R1 / RE1 / RA-1 / R9)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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