Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Bali, Indonesia, on 11 October 2018 for the Singapore-Indonesia Leaders’ Retreat. This was Prime Minister Lee’s third Leaders’ Retreat with President Joko Widodo. During the Retreat, the Leaders reaffirmed the excellent state of relations between Singapore and Indonesia, and agreed to continue building on this strong foundation of trust and mutually-beneficial cooperation.
The Leaders welcomed the robust and expanding economic ties between the two countries. Singapore has been Indonesia’s largest foreign investor since 2014, with US$8.4 billion in realised investments in 2017. The Leaders witnessed the signing of the Agreement between Singapore and Indonesia on the Promotion and Protection of Investments (Bilateral Investment Treaty), and agreed on the importance of expediting discussions to update the bilateral Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement. Taken together, these Agreements will boost investor confidence and potentially increase two-way trade and investment flows.
The Leaders discussed progress on key bilateral investment projects including the Kendal Industrial Park (KIP) in Central Java. They welcomed the opening of a polytechnic in the KIP to up-skill the local workforce, and agreed to continue collaboration to enhance the KIP as an investment destination. In addition, the Leaders noted that the development of the Nongsa Digital Park (NDP) will help strengthen Batam’s role as a “digital bridge” between Singapore and other Indonesian cities. The NDP, which was launched in March 2018, now houses 35 tech companies operating in the digital sector.
Prime Minister Lee and President Joko Widodo discussed strengthening financial cooperation and agreed that the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Bank Indonesia would work on a bilateral financial arrangement that supports monetary and financial stability. This will be a USD 10 billion package, comprising bilateral local currency swap and USD repurchase agreements. The two central banks will finalise and announce the details soon.
Prime Minister Lee and President Joko Widodo discussed new areas of bilateral economic cooperation, including in the digital economy. They welcomed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Enterprise Singapore and the Indonesian Ministry of Industry’s Agency for Research and Development of Industry on the Cooperation for Development and Implementation of Industry 4.0, as well as the MOU on Financial Technology Cooperation between the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority to facilitate information-sharing and promote joint innovation projects. The Leaders welcomed the upcoming opening of BLOCK71 in Bandung and Yogyakarta, which expands on BLOCK71’s presence in Jakarta. Singapore’s Napier Healthcare also signed a Letter of Intent with Makassar City on the provision of tele-health services. This would help position Makassar, which is one of Indonesia’s pilot cities under the ASEAN Smart Cities Network, as a future-ready Smart City.
In addition, the Leaders discussed deepening tourism-related cooperation and bilateral connectivity in support of Indonesia’s initiative to develop “Ten New Balis”, and welcomed the progress of the Bilateral Cruise Inter-Agency Taskforce set up in 2017. They noted the MOU on Collaboration in Integrated Tourism Destinations signed between Enterprise Singapore and the Indonesia Tourism Development Cooperation in August 2018, and the good progress made on joint development of integrated tourism destinations along the Singapore-Bali cruise route following from the MOU. The Leaders also noted the launch of new cruise itineraries by Genting Dream from Singapore to Bali, Surabaya, and Bintan. They looked forward to further progress on ongoing cruise infrastructure and marina development projects in Bali and Banyuwangi, and welcomed the signing of the MOU between Genting Cruise Lines and PT Pelabuhan Indonesia III on cruise port development.
Prime Minister Lee congratulated President Joko Widodo on Indonesia’s election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the term 2019 to 2020, and looked forward to continue working closely with Indonesia in both the regional and international contexts. The Leaders reaffirmed the strong defence ties between both countries, and discussed the strengthening of security relations through counter-terrorism cooperation, and deepening institutional linkages. A Joint Update on Defence Cooperation, endorsed by both Defence Ministers, was tabled to the Leaders, who welcomed efforts by both defence establishments to work together on an intelligence-sharing facility based on Indonesia’s “Our Eyes” Initiative. The Leaders also agreed on the importance of continued close collaboration on counter-terrorism between the Police Forces of both countries. In addition, the Singapore Civil Defence Force and Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency signed a Letter of Intent on Cooperation in the Field of Urban Search and Rescue in July 2018.
Prime Minister Lee and President Joko Widodo underscored the importance of continuing to deepen ties at the people-to-people level. The Leaders witnessed the signing of the bilateral Cultural Cooperation Programme for the Years 2019 to 2021 Concerning Cooperation in the Fields of Arts and Heritage between the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and Indonesia’s Ministry of Education and Culture, which will provide a framework for closer cooperation in the fields of Arts and Heritage. This builds on the marquee bilateral cultural event “Kreatif Connections: Celebrating 50 Years of Indonesia-Singapore Friendship” held earlier this year in Singapore, which concluded the festivities commemorating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations. The Singapore-Indonesia Youth Leaders Exchange Programme, which was inaugurated in November 2017, has had two runs thus far.
Noting the strong links between agencies and educational institutions of both countries in the field of training and capacity-building, the Leaders affirmed both sides’ interest to expand collaboration on this front, including through the extension of the MOU concerning Cooperation on Human Resources Development of the Government Officers in the Maritime Field between the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore and Indonesia’s Directorate General of Sea Transportation, as well as ongoing cooperation on financial technology learning for higher education providers under the auspices of an MOU between Ngee Ann Polytechnic and the Indonesian Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education’s Directorate General of Learning and Student Affairs, which is supported by Temasek Foundation International. Prime Minister Lee and President Joko Widodo also discussed deepening ties between Singapore’s and Indonesia’s leaders, including through the establishment of a new RISING Fellowship to encourage the sharing of experiences and exchange of best practices with Indonesia’s regional leaders.
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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
11 OCTOBER 2018