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View all search resultsIn turbulent times, shared interest can bridge value gaps: German envoy
German Ambassador to Indonesia, Ralf Beste, speaks about how Indonesia fits into European strategic thinking, and how nations with differing values can still cooperate through shared interests.
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German Ambassador to Indonesia, Timor-Leste and ASEAN Ralf Beste speaks on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025, during the submission of his credentials as Ambassador to ASEAN to Secretary-General Dr. Kao Him Hourn. (Instagram/@germanyinasean)
R
alf Beste began his post in Jakarta as German Ambassador to Indonesia, ASEAN and Timor-Leste four months ago, stepping into a landscape of global fractures but also new opportunities. Amid turbulent geopolitics, Beste spoke with The Jakarta Post's M. Taufiqurrahman, Tama Salim and Yvette Tanamal about how Indonesia fits into European strategic thinking, and how nations with differing values can still cooperate through shared interests. Below are excerpts from the conversation.
Question: How does Germany view Indonesia, and how does Jakarta fit into Berlin’s strategic thinking?
Answer: Germany is first impressed by Indonesia’s sheer size: the fourth-largest country [by population], the largest Muslim-majority nation and one of the biggest democracies. Germans can’t stop recounting superlatives when it comes to Indonesia.
At the same time, the country feels far away and somewhat exotic. Relations are close among those who maintain them, but not across society as a whole. We nevertheless have long-standing ties, especially through people-to-people contacts. In Germany, the name Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie is closely associated with Indonesia, and there is a certain affection.
When it comes to economic ties, there is a large potential, but it’s not a massive relation that we have. If you compare that to other Asian countries, there’s a lot of potential room for improvement. We have a strong presence of German industry, but for an export-oriented country like ours, we think we could do more.
And that’s actually my mission: I want to enhance and enlarge the footprint of Germany in this country.
We want to seize the tailwind of the EU-Indonesia Free Trade Agreement once it gets off the ground.
