Jos Manuel Barroso, Brussels
I was particularly honored and glad to accept President Yudhoyono's invitation to visit Indonesia because of the special significance that the first visit of a President of the European Commission can have but even more because I think that it happens at a particularly interesting moment, for the country itself, for our bilateral relationship and for the regional and international scenario.
In less than 10 years, Indonesia has traveled an astonishing distance from the devastating 1997 Asian financial crisis and the subsequent fall of the autocratic regime to a vibrant democracy with solid economic growth. The political and economic indicators are all rising and Indonesia is confirming its success story. The Government of Indonesia has done an admirable job of restoring macroeconomic stability and the economy now shows solid growth rates. There is, in Europe, a real feeling of excitement about the development Indonesia's economy and the prospects it offers for the future -- an excitement I share.
In today's globalized world, countries compete for investment and many opportunities around the world. Investment capital is most likely to go where it is welcome, where there is a high degree of security, predictability and legal certainty and where there is a regulatory regime that gives confidence to investors. And, it seems to me, that this is exactly the kind of environment that Indonesia is seeking to create. The European Union (EU) welcomes the determination of Indonesia's government in pushing ahead its reform agenda.
Indonesia and the EU have started to share a wide range of values and interests, are increasingly looking at each other as friends and key partners and have understood that they can both gain a great deal from closer cooperation. We are therefore fully committed to supporting Indonesian process of reforms as much as we can. My Indonesian counterparts and I are hopeful and eager to realize the full potential of our relationship, now more than ever, and I am here to propose and be advised on which are the best opportunities that we can use to enhance our partnership.
We have now a new instrument to put this cooperation on a firm basis. We have recently concluded the negotiation of a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement which we all hope to start implementing rapidly and successfully.
But I also want to underline how much we welcome Indonesia's commitment to play a key role at regional level. Earlier this week, ASEAN countries had a historical summit in Singapore where they adopted a landmark ASEAN Charter and Blueprint for an Economic Community. This gives a new impetus to the determination of the countries of South East Asia to take forward a process of integration engaged forty years ago.
The EU, celebrating this year its 50th anniversary, looks with particular interest to this process and has made it clear at the ASEAN-EU Summit held yesterday that it is willing to throw its full weight behind ASEAN integration. We have learnt from our own history how important regional integration is for peace, stability and prosperity of a group of countries.
We are convinced that this is even more true in today's globalized world and therefore encourage other groupings to find the political will necessary to go for such a process, choosing their pace and their modalities but with a clear objective ahead. And we are willing to share more with countries which choose this path; this is also why we should ensure that the ongoing negotiation of our ASEAN-EU Free Trade Agreement results in an ambitious set of commitments.
It does not come as a surprise that we Europeans are attaching increasing importance to Asia. Asia has recently surpassed North America to become the EU's main economic partner, accounting for a third of our total trade flows, and this continues to grow apace. We are the most important economic partner for Indonesia for example. EU Foreign Direct Investment in Asia is considerable, and now makes up close to a third of total external European investment. The level of interdependence is now at unprecedented levels. And we think that Europe and Asia need to cooperate if we want to tackle the real challenges of our lifetime, from fighting climate change to countering terrorism, alleviating poverty and promoting human rights.
We need collective solutions. And collective action requires credible negotiating partners on both sides, which is not easily offered when nation-states operate separately and apart.
In this search for collective solutions we particularly welcome the way Indonesia is assuming its role in the UN and other multilateral fora.
The crucial UN Climate Change Conference that Indonesia will host in Bali next month is a fresh opportunity to take forward cooperation between the EU and Asia. We must work together to ensure that the conference gives the green light to launch negotiations on a comprehensive new UN climate change agreement that is ambitious enough to prevent climate change from reaching devastating levels.
We have a demanding and interesting agenda ahead of us. I want to particularly stress how pleased we are to have in Indonesia a trusted partner to actively tackle the challenges of the 21st century.
The writer is President of the European Commission.
