T

oday, President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo will head to Singapore for his first state visit to the neighboring country. Jokowi last visited Singapore as Indonesian president when he paid respects to the city-state'€™s late founding father prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, in March.

Jokowi'€™s visits demonstrate that Singapore is not just a close neighbor to Jakarta, but also a good friend. The ties between Jakarta and Singapore are no doubt beyond those than that of a mere neighbor.

The President'€™s trip this time around serves as an ideal catalyst for the two countries to strengthen and enhance trust, development and prosperity. The visit is also special as this year Indonesia and Singapore will celebrate the 49th anniversary of their diplomatic relations with one another. A diplomatic relationship that has been built on mutual understanding for almost half a century is indeed exceptional.

No doubt there have been many small problems in Indonesia-Singapore relations. But in my opinion these were necessary ones that the two neighbors needed to walk through in order to forge the path of a healthier and more mature relationship.

Indonesia and Singapore have been building a relationship that is based on mutual trust, development and prosperity, which can be highlighted in the following.

First and politically speaking, the relationship between Jakarta and Singapore has always been constructive.

In addressing many issues, such as the Straits of Malacca, trans-boundary haze pollution in Riau, flight information over Riau Islands, money laundering, extradition treaties and cooperation in counter-terrorism and cyber security, the two countries have always found ways to address those concerns in a positive and constructive manner.

In terms of maritime boundary delimitation, for example, the two countries were able to settle most of the outstanding segments in 2014. The rest of the unsettled segments will be resolved in due course. These achievements show how the two countries can lead by example and deal with maritime boundary disputes in a peaceful way.

In developing a regional architecture, as ASEAN founding members the two nations are striving for a better and more effective and efficient ASEAN mechanism through the ASEAN streamlining initiative.

The two are also working hard on issues of common concern such as the fight against corruption, the South China Sea dispute and building a nuclear weapons-free zone in regional and international spheres.

Second, cooperation between the two countries is based on the spirit of moving forward.

It is common knowledge that there have been difficulties with the ratification process of the Extradition Treaty (ET) and Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA). While the quest to find a solution to those tricky issues has been the pinnacle question for many years, it has, nevertheless, not prevented both sides from moving forward and boosting cooperation in other areas.

Another success story of the bilateral relationship includes the way Jakarta and Singapore handled the haze issue. Progress continues to be made, including the ratification of the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution by Indonesia on Sept. 16, 2014.

This shows Indonesia'€™s commitment and seriousness in tackling transboundary haze pollution, which stems from forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

Finally, the two countries have confidence in the future ahead.

Indonesia is a major source of tourist arrivals for Singapore, and Singapore is among the top sources of tourists for Indonesia. Furthermore, more than 200,000 Indonesians are staying, studying and working in Singapore.

Statistics from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) show that the Indonesia-Singapore route is one of the busiest in the world.

Singapore has also been Indonesia'€™s largest source of investment in the last couple of years. In 2014, Singapore'€™s investment of US$5.8 billion accounted for 20.4 percent of Indonesia'€™s total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). In the first quarter of 2015, Singapore maintained its position as the top foreign investor in Indonesia with $1.2 billion, or 18.1 percent of the total FDI in Indonesia.

Singapore is Indonesia'€™s third largest trading partner, and for Singapore, Indonesia is its fourth largest trading partner.

These facts testify that Jakarta and Singapore can and will seize opportunities and work well together.

The late father of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, once said that '€œthe task of leaders must be to provide or create for [citizens] a strong framework within which they can learn, work hard, be productive and be rewarded accordingly. And this is not easy to achieve.'€

Now that leaders in both Jakarta and Singapore have established and continue to build a strong framework of cooperation, the people of both countries must further cultivate this by putting our hearts and souls into working hard to build a strong and mutually beneficial bilateral relationship.

In this way, the Indonesia-Singapore relationship will be rewarded with continued mutual trust, development and prosperity.
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The writer is director of East Asia and Pacific, Indonesian ForeignMinistry, Jakarta.