INDONESIA AND SOUTH AFRICA

Indonesia and South Africa shares similar history of oppression and subjugation under colonial powers. Indonesia was colonized for more than 300 years and went through many ordeals in achieving its independence. Therefore, Indonesians could empathize and relate easily with the struggle for liberation by the oppressed South Africans against the apartheid regime.

We assisted their struggle within our capacity as a developing nation and we always voice our support in various international fora and organizations that Indonesia joined in. It might be of interest to note that during the apartheid era, passport of every Indonesian civil servant was stamped with a note: not allow to enter South Africa.

The two countries established diplomatic relations in 1994 and Indonesia opened its Embassy in Pretoria in 1995. At present, the two countries share cordial bilateral relations which are multi-facet, covering cooperation in the spheres of political, economic, socio-cultural and others. It is important to mention that Indonesia and South Africa co-chairs the Asian-African Summit which was held in Indonesia in 2005. The outcomes of the Summit, the New Asian African Strategic Partnership (NAASP) charts future direction of the two continents cooperation. Our two countries will maintain their leadership in the post-Summit and this will only strengthen our bond.

After since the convening of the Asian-African Summit 2005, there is also a significant enhancement on economic relations between the two countries. This is indicated by more frequent visits of both government's officials and significant increase on the signing of cooperation agreements, MoUs, letters of intent and so on. It accordingly implies to a broader bilateral cooperation in economic fields such as energy, air-transportation, SMEs development, finance and banking, bilateral trade enhancement and tourism.

In the past 5 years, trade relations between the two countries also show an increasing trend, which is peaked in 2005. However, there are still some problems exist between the two countries' trade relations that should be addressed properly, such as tariff and non-tariff barriers, anti dumping measures and trade imbalance between Indonesia and South Africa. The two countries are in the concerted efforts to explore areas of cooperation to strengthen their future ties. There are plenty of avenues where the two countries can bolster their ties, and one of them is by ways of expanding and deepening our trade relations and investment cooperation. Indonesian business community can benefit from South Africa's strategic position as the regional economic powerhouse and its strategic location as a hub for travels to other countries within the region. Likewise, with more than 220 million population, Indonesia is a potential market for South African products. Indonesia can also function as South Africa catalyst to penetrate the Southeast Asian Market: the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA).

Bilateral Agreements

Date	Title of the agreement
1994-08-12	Joint Communique on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations
1997-07-15	Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income
1997-11-20	Air Transport Agreement
1997-11-20	Trade Agreement
2003-03-17	Arrangement on Legal Co-operation

Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Pumzile Mlambo Ngcuka, visited Indonesia in April 2006 where she met with the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Jakarta.

She also met with some Indonesian high ranking officials, and visited other places in Indonesia to further develope bilateral realtions between the two countries.

CELEBRATING 15th ANNIVERSARY OF RELATION

The first South African dance inspired from the Indonesian cultural story which was choreographed by Thabo Rapoo who studied Indonesian dance in Solo in 2008. The dance was premiered at the Dance Factory in Johannesburg on 27 June 2009 before it was performed in the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown in July 2009.