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em>Switzerland and Indonesia are celebrating their 60th anniversary of bilateral relations this year. Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Bulkhalter presented several points on the democratization process and bilateral relations in a written interview with The Jakarta Post’s Novan Iman Santosa, which took place during the recent Fifth Bali Democracy Forum. The following is an excerpt from the interview.

Question: How does the Swiss government view the Bali Democracy Forum and what does the forum have to offer the Asia-Pacific region and the world as a whole?

Answer: It was a great pleasure for Switzerland to attend the Fifth Bali Democracy Forum. This forum has established itself as a platform in the region, providing an opportunity for open discussion among Asian countries on their approaches to democracy and their experiences, and for sharing best practices.

Swiss participation has also enabled our country to highlight the concrete actions it has taken to fight corruption, which undermines democratic processes.

Switzerland very actively participates in international efforts to fight corruption. We made asset recovery a policy priority over 25 years ago in an effort to combat corruption and to protect our financial center from an inflow of illicit funds. In the last 15 years, Switzerland has returned overall around US$1.7 billion to their countries of origin, more than any other financial center in the world. For example, in 2003, Swiss banks returned $683 million to the Republic of the Philippines from accounts belonging to former president Marcos.

Several democratic process models are being applied by different countries in the world. What is the Swiss government’s view on the matter? Is there a one-size-fits-all approach?

Switzerland would not want to lecture other countries. Each nation is different and has to find its own specific solutions. We are, however, available to assist other countries wishing to improve their forms of governance.

Switzerland is very active in helping the democratization process in this region through activities related to human rights and the humanitarian sector. Is there a clear roadmap or is Swiss assistance provided on an ad hoc basis depending on the specific country?

There is no clear roadmap. However, the promotion of respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law ranks among the five constitutional goals of the Swiss Confederation. This objective is based on the conviction that an engagement in the mentioned areas contribute to the preservation of Switzerland’s independence and welfare as the supreme constitutional goal of Swiss foreign policy. Switzerland’s international cooperation is currently very active in Asian countries, and it intends to step up its commitment in the future. For instance in Myanmar, where we have just opened an embassy and where we want to promote the current process of democratization. Switzerland has identified a number of priority countries in Asia to support efforts in the area of conflict transformation and human rights. In Nepal, for example, Switzerland offers its experience in federalism. We are aware that our federal system has grown slowly and is therefore not exportable. At the same time, Nepal is interested in learning more about our experience and our approach to this subject.

Switzerland and Indonesia are celebrating the 60th anniversary of bilateral relations this year. How do you see the ties?

Our bilateral relations are excellent. We have developed a very warm rapport. The excellence of our bilateral relations was underscored by a major commitment by the Swiss Development Cooperation Agency from 1976–1997 in Indonesia and by Switzerland’s successful contribution to the Aceh peace process. Lately, our economic ties and framework have been strengthened.

Switzerland’s economic presence in Indonesia is impressive. There are more than 70 Swiss companies in Indonesia providing more than 43,000 jobs. Swiss companies are among the 16 most important
foreign investors in Indonesia.

Indonesia has been, and will continue to be, one of the eight priority partner countries worldwide in Switzerland’s economic development cooperation program.