UAE, RI establish joint commission to boost ties

With growing economic links in recent years, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Indonesia recently established a joint commission to further boost bilateral ties, UAE Ambassador to Indonesia Yousif Rashid Alsharhan says.

“During our foreign minister’s recent visit to Jakarta, both countries signed a memorandum of understanding [MoU] to establish the joint commission to boost bilateral cooperation,” Ambassador Alsharhan told The Jakarta Post in an interview in connection with celebrations to mark the 39th anniversary of the UAE on Dec. 2.

Under the joint commission, the foreign ministers of the UAE and Indonesia will periodically meet to discuss ways to enhance bilateral cooperation.

Both ministers also signed an agreement regarding the waiving of visas for diplomatic and service passport holders.

According to Alsharhan, ties between the UAE, a small but prosperous Persian Gulf emirate, and Indonesia have been growing at a tremendous pace since both countries established diplomatic relations in 1976.

“We have excellent relations at the political level. In the economic sector also, our trade is growing constantly. Our companies have also invested in various sectors in Indonesia,” Alsharhan said.

According to the Indonesian Trade Ministry, bilateral trade reached US$1.3 billion during the first eight months of this year. This was an impressive increase of 37 percent from $947 million during the same period in 2009.

The balance of trade is heavily in favor of Indonesia, as Jakarta exported almost $1 billion worth of goods to the UAE by August 2010.

Indonesia mainly exports machines, cars, electrical equipment, aircraft spare parts, furniture, precious stones, processed food, vegetables and livestock to the UAE, and imports machinery, lubricant oils, aluminum, chemicals and plastics.

Investors from the UAE invested in shipbuilding, port construction, coal mining, oil drilling and infrastructure projects.

During the last four years, UAE investors signed MoUs with their Indonesian counterparts to invest around $2 billion in shipping, oil drilling and construction projects, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry’s website said.

But it is not all about trade and investment; the UAE also provides employment to 100,000 Indonesian workers, Alsharhan said.

“Out of 100,000 Indonesian workers, about 3,000 Indonesians work as managers, engineers, accountants and technicians. The rest work in the informal sector,” Alsharhan said.