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he European Parliament is a strong proponent of a deeper and more comprehensive relationship with Southeast Asia. Four years ago the European Parliament and its Foreign Affairs Committee recommended that the European Union’s relationship with Indonesia should be elevated into a true strategic partnership. We are convinced that the region-to-region EU-ASEAN partnership has to become more strategic.

This week, I am leading the official mission of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs to Indonesia and ASEAN. We are here to show our strong support to the bilateral relationship and to highlight how we value our Indonesian friends as a key partner.

Southeast Asia is one of the most dynamic regions in the world. Indonesia is right at the heart of the region.

Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia, the world’s fourth most populous nation and the third largest democracy. This makes Indonesia an obvious key partner for Europe. Moreover, the partnership has so much more potential in its scope and depth. It is high time to lift the relationship to the level it deserves.

Indonesia belongs to the core group of nations with whom Europe is cooperating to address global concerns — be it climate change, global trading and financial issues, regional and global security concerns, piracy or
cyber-threats.

In 2014, the European Parliament gave its consent to the EU-Indonesia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA). The PCA has already strengthened the bilateral relations.

Indonesia has much to offer for cooperation with Europe. It can be proud of its hard-working people and the fast-growing middle class. It is particularly rich in natural resources. Indonesia is an active member in regional and global fora, such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G20 and ASEAN.

The EU and Indonesia have a lot in common. We are both strong supporters of the UN and the rules based order as shown in our joint commitment on fighting climate change and preserving our oceans through the Paris Agreement and “Our Ocean Conference” which the EU hosted last year and Indonesia will host in October. We share similar concerns on nuclear proliferation or the need to ensure the return of the displaced Rohingyas to Myanmar.

Our economic bonds are also important. The EU is the fourth largest Foreign Direct investor in the country (€2.2 billion) and the first in ASEAN. European companies employ a substantial number of workers in Indonesia: 1.1 million. People-to-people contacts area paramount in a bilateral relationship. More than 11,000 Indonesians students currently study in Europe.

I trust that our visit will bring our regions once again closer together. I hope our visit will also help to bring Europe to the attention of more Indonesians and to encourage people-to-people exchanges of students, academics, sportsmen and others and to invigorate mutual cultural awareness and exchanges.

We should work together on safeguarding that we do not have to wait for too long to witness regular summits between the strategic partners of the EU and Indonesia.
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