Security and economic relations: Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter holds political talks in Indonesia

Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter met today President Joko Widodo and Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi for bilateral talks in the Indonesian capital Jakarta. The talks focused on possibilities for closer bilateral relations between Switzerland and Indonesia. Among other things, an agreement was reached to begin negotiations in April on a treaty for mutual legal assistance between the two countries. Also discussed were possibilities for the further development of trade and economic relations between Switzerland and Indonesia, whose bilateral trade volume currently stands at a level of some CHF 1 billion (2014). Indonesia is also the second-largest recipient of Swiss foreign direct investment (CHF 5.7 billion in 2013) in the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). In addition, Switzerland and Indonesia conduct an ongoing political dialogue, and established in 2009 a joint economic and trade commission.

Switzerland sees potential for the further development of bilateral economic and trade activities through a comprehensive economic partnership agreement. To this end, nine rounds of negotiations have already been held between Indonesia and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), of which Switzerland is a member. In his discussions with his Indonesian counterpart, Federal Councillor Burkhalter underscored Switzerland's interest in seeing the free trade negotiations concluded.

Mr Burkhalter and Foreign Minister Marsudi also discussed cooperation in such common areas of interest as the promotion of trade and investment, raising quality standards for agricultural products, the sustainability and productivity of Indonesian companies, the management of public finances, and the promotion of tourism – areas in which Switzerland takes an active interest, in particular, through the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

The Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) also addressed the subject of capital punishment and expressed his concern over the resumption of executions in Indonesia. He stressed the high priority that Switzerland places on the abolition of the death penalty, pointing out that capital punishment is not compatible with the principles of human rights – specifically, that of the right to life – nor with correctional justice whose purpose is rehabilitation. Mr Burkhalter took note of the fact that Indonesia is confronted to an exceptional extent with the problem of drug trafficking. With this in mind, he invited his interlocutors to join in an exchange of ideas with Switzerland concerning drug policy and capital punishment.

Cooperative security and bilateral security issues

In addition to bilateral issues, Mr Burkhalter also held talks in Jakarta on various aspects of security policy. Prior to the talks held with Ms Marsudi, Mr Burkhalter discussed the issue of cooperative security at a meeting with government officials and specialists, including the development of regional security in Asia and possibilities for strengthening cooperation between the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and its Asian partner states, as well as with the ASEAN. Another topic of discussion was the OSCE Asian conference, which Switzerland – as chair of the Contact Group with the OSCE Asian Partners for Co-operation – is set to organise together with South Korea. The conference, which is scheduled to take place in Seoul at the beginning of June 2015, will focus on the expectations and visions of the Asian countries with regard to multilateral security cooperation in answer to the changing global security structures. Mr Burkhalter also discussed these various security issues today during his meeting with ASEAN representatives at the association's general secretariat.

Further developing and strengthening the various forms of, and forums for this cooperation is a priority of Switzerland's commitment to cooperative security in Asia. At the same time, security and a stable context are important preconditions for closer bilateral relations with Asian states such as Indonesia. During his talks with Ms Marsudi, Mr Burkhalter went on to raise other security-related issues such as cybercrime, combating terrorism and possibilities for deradicalisation, including the work of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF). The Geneva-based fund supports local projects aimed at reducing the risk that vulnerable groups will be radicalised and thus also at making them less likely to be recruited by terrorists. Both parties also agreed to starting up a security dialogue on various issues between the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) and the Indonesian Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

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