Ankara and Jakarta plan to collaborate on development projects in third-party countries to strengthen the Global South, Indonesian Vice Foreign Minister Pahala Mansury said recently in an exclusive interview with Daily Sabah.

"One of the key areas we hope to develop cooperation with Türkiye in is how we can develop other regions and their economies," Mansury said.

He also pointed out his discussions with the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) on this issue and that there has already been cooperation with the agency on training and capacity building in the past.

"Today we talked about different opportunities for triangular development cooperation in Africa. TIKA right now has a significant presence on the continent. So, we are now exploring the possibility of working together in the area of development cooperation," the vice minister highlighted. He added that Türkiye and Indonesia could also help facilitate solutions for African countries to reach their net-zero goals.

Pointing to Indonesia and Türkiye's "long and historic relationship," Mansury, who is also the president’s special envoy for Türkiye, said the two countries have been working on many fronts, including in the areas of education, politics, security and trade. "But we think that there is still a lot of room for us to continue to improve the ties."

He said that good momentum in ties has existed since 2022 when both countries agreed to establish the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council – a mechanism to detect, monitor and provide frameworks to elevate ties and render the relations more strategic.

in another sign of strong relations, the president-elect and current defense minister, Prabowo Subianto, has already visited Türkiye two times in 2024. During his most recent visit in late July, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with Subianto in the capital Ankara.

On economic ties, Mansury said that Indonesia and Türkiye have similarly sized economies and that the trade volume, which is just under $3 billion (TL 100.90 billion), is still below the potential.

"We would also like to explore again the possibility of Indonesia and Türkiye establishing a comprehensive economic partnership agreement, the negotiations of which started in 2019 but ceased in 2021. So, for the last three years, we have had little progress. But we think now there is heightened interest in us working together. There is a potential to restart negotiations. Very soon, in the next couple of months, we will already hold some virtual meetings between the chief negotiators of the two countries from their respective trade ministries," he elaborated.

To increase the trade volume, Mansury stressed that more face-to-face contact between the business communities is vital.

"We should look to see which sectors we need to focus on and start to push for the sectors to have more contact. The embassy in Ankara has been organizing multiple meetings but we hope that we are also going to be able to use various events in both Türkiye and Indonesia to bring together the business community to identify the priority sectors."

Regarding the stalled process for a free trade agreement (FTA), the vice minister said that the parties must uncover complementary opportunities. "In the past, there was some concern about the balance of trade being more advantageous to the Indonesian side. But now, as we are discovering other sectors, like the areas of defense or health care, (the unbalanced nature) should not discourage the government or private sector. We think that there are many opportunities that will benefit both countries," he added, stressing the need to restart negotiations.

The largest economy in Southeast Asia, Indonesia plays a crucial role in the economic and political dynamics of a region where global powers have been increasingly at odds over Taiwan, human rights issues, the U.S. military presence and contested areas like the South China Sea.

Another new area of collaboration is energy, he emphasized, pointing out: "There are a number of companies that started to develop strong relations in the area of energy, including in the renewable energy sector. Especially geothermal energy, in which both Indonesia and Türkiye are quite rich in resources, bears potential. Both countries have a relatively attractive industry structure that allows growth of the geothermal energy sector. "

Moreover, Mansury also mentioned that Indonesia aims to develop its electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing sector. "Indonesia produces batteries thanks to the abundant resource of nickel and Türkiye is also active in the sector of autoparts and production of EVs."

With a population of about 275 million, Indonesia has the largest reserves of nickel in the world. In 2023, the country was responsible for more than half of nickel ore globally. Nickel is an important material for EV batteries and solar panels.

He said that discussions have not yet taken place with Togg, the manufacturer of Türkiye's first homegrown electric vehicle but that "it is an opportunity."

"Indonesia in 2024 had a new regulation to allow EV manufacturing companies to the country."

Comprehensive defense ecosystem

Defense industry cooperation has proven an emerging field of partnership between Ankara and Jakarta.

"We discussed both with the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) and individual companies a grand design or road map for Indonesia’s defense industry, which will go beyond joint production," Mansury said on the issue.

This road map would ensure Indonesia could develop a strong ecosystem in the defense industry with small and middle-sized companies besides government-owned enterprises, to become part of the global supply chain. "Furthermore, we need to work on research and development as well – the defense industry in Türkiye spends a high amount on R&D."

Mansury also announced that the head of the SSB is expected to visit Indonesia with representatives from 20 defense companies within August. Moreover, in November Indonesia expects about 39 defense companies from Türkiye to come to the country to participate in a defense expo. Defense Minister Yaşar Güler similarly is expected to visit Indonesia on August.22.

"We also push for defense companies in Indonesia, whether state-owned or private, to come to Türkiye. We believe that Türkiye and Indonesia have a lot of complementary areas for their defense industries, not only in terms of procuring but also strategic relations."

He emphasized that he hoped that either before the end of this year or the beginning of 2025, the first high-level strategic cooperation council meeting will be held in Ankara "to allow us to get the ball rolling."

Global challenges, same perspective

Ankara and Jakarta also cooperate on international platforms such as the U.N., the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the G-20 and MIKTA.

"Indonesia and Türkiye share similarities in terms of values, thinking, the global influence we have, and both of us are emerging middle powers that will continue to increase their impact," Mansury said.

In regards to what is happening in Palestine’s Gaza, both countries are pushing for an immediate cease-fire as well as a two-state solution, the vice minister said, stressing that the two also strive to ensure the Palestinian state becomes a U.N. member

"I think the world listens to both Türkiye and Indonesia due to the importance of the Global South and large Muslim communities," he added.