Indonesia-Turkey relations refers to diplomatic relations betweeen Turkey and Indonesia. They have strong ties.
| Filetype: | svg |
| Mission1: | Embassy of Indonesia, Ankara |
| Mission2: | Embassy of Turkey, Jakarta |
Indonesia and Turkey established diplomatic relations in 1950. Diplomatic relations are particularly important because both are Muslim-majority countries as well as modern democracies. Indonesia has an embassy in Ankara[1] and consulate-general in Istanbul. Turkey has an embassy in Jakarta,[2] and honorary consulate in Medan since May 1996. Both countries are full members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, MIKTA and the G-20 major economies.
Relations with the Ottoman Empire (Turkey's predecessor state) began with the 16th century Ottoman expedition to Aceh, in with the response to the Aceh Sultanate's request for assistance against the Portuguese in Malacca. In the 16th and 17th centuries, beside Aceh Sultanate, the Ottomans also established diplomatic and military ties with the Demak and Mataram[3]
Turkey's relations with the kingdoms in Indonesia (Archipelago) formally began when the then Sultan of Aceh Alauddin Riayat Syah al-Kahhar (1539–1571) sent an envoy to sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in 1564. Sultan Alauddin wanted to develop this relationship, both for efforts expulsion of colonial powers such as the Portuguese in Malacca, as well as to expand their power in Sumatra.[4] [5]
After the death of Suleiman the Magnificent in 1566, his son Selim II ordered ships to be sent to Aceh. A number of soldiers, gunsmiths and engineers were sent on the Ottoman fleet's expedition to Aceh, along with ample supplies of weapons and ammunition. The first fleet was sent, consisting of 15 ships equipped with artillery. However, the fleet must be diverted to fight the rebellion in Yemen. So only two ships finally arrived in Aceh in 1566–1567, but many other fleets and shipments followed. The first expedition was led by Kurtoğlu Hızır Reis. The Acehnese paid for the shipment in pearls, diamonds and rubies.[6] [7] [8]
The Ottomans taught the Acehnese how to forge their own cannons, some of which reached quite large sizes. The craft of making such weapons had spread throughout the other Southeast Asian kingdoms.[6]
When the Ottomans fought against Russia in 1853, the Sultan of Aceh Alauddin Ibrahim Mansur Syah sent 10,000 Spanish dollars in war aid to the Sultan of Ottoman at that time Abdul Mejid I.[9]
When the Aceh sultanate was attacked by the Dutch in 1873, which sparked the Aceh War, the Aceh sultanate requested protection from a previous agreement with the Ottoman Empire. Once again Aceh asked for military assistance from the Ottoman Empire, but the Ottoman fleet assigned to assist was diverted to Yemen because there was a Zaidi rebellion there.[10]
In 1883, the Ottomans opened a consulate in Batavia, marking the first formal relations on the island of Java.[11]
Turkey recognized Indonesia on 29 December 1949. Diplomatic relations were established in 1950. Turkish Embassy in Jakarta was opened on 10 April 1957.[12]
This relationship continued on 24 April 1959, where President Sukarno, the first president of Indonesia had the opportunity to visit Ankara and visit Istanbul for the first time. At that time, President Sukarno was welcomed by Turkish President Celal Bayar.[13]
In April 2011, Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gül paid a state visit to Indonesia. The welcoming ceremony for PM Abdullah Gül was carried out with a state ceremony held at the Merdeka Palace, April 5, 2011.[14]
During the visit, bilateral talks between the two countries were held. Bilateral talks between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and PM Abdullah Gül focused on follow-up as an effort to increase bilateral cooperation in various sectors. Two countries signed a strategic partnership, with Turkish PM Abdullah Gül declaring that "a new era is beginning with Indonesia."
In 2017, President Joko Widodo paid a state visit to Ankara, Turkey. Indonesia and Turkey signed two agreements during President Joko Widodo's two-day visit to Turkey. The signing ceremony of the healthcare agreement and launching of economic negotiations to establish the Indonesia-Turkey Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IT-CEPA) witnessed by Jokowi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.[15] [16]
President Jokowi's visit in 2017 was also to discuss the cooperation between Indonesia and Turkey in the field of strategic industrial development by carrying out joint development, both for the land and air dimensions, as well as other things. Other discussions also covered the issue of counter-terrorism which was the focus of the two countries.[16]
Following the 2004 Banda Aceh Tsunami, ties between the two countries strengthened, as Turkey provided extensive humanitarian aid, including building the Gampong Atjeh Istanbul settlement that gave shelter to disaster victims.[30] [31] During the 2011 Van Earthquake, the Indonesian government provided humanitarian aid worth US$1 million to the Turkish government to help earthquake victims in the country. Assistance comes from ready-to-use funds managed by the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB).[32]
At the time of the 2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami, the Istanbul-based Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) said in a statement that its team rushed to Indonesia immediately after the earthquake occurred and provided emergency assistance to people affected by the disaster in Palu, Dongala and surrounding areas. The aid agency also provided food for 400 people and shelter for 500 people. IHH, which has continued to carry out relief operations in the area since the earthquake hit the island, sent food packages containing rice, cooking oil, flour, canned fish, sauce and sugar to 2,900 earthquake victims.[33] [34]
During the 2020 Aegean Sea earthquake, General Chair of the Indonesian Red Cross and former Vice President Jusuf Kalla said he was ready to send Indonesian Red Cross volunteers to Turkey to help evacuate earthquake victims if needed.[35] After the earthquake, the Indonesian Islamic organization Muhammadiyah with its volunteer wing collaborated with the Indonesian Student Association in the Bursa and Izmir regions, went directly to the Aşık Veysel Park area, the largest refugee camp to observe and provide moral support and financial assistance to victims affected by the earthquake. For 3 days from Monday, November 2 to Wednesday, November 4, 2020, 20 Indonesian youths attended to help the victims.[36]
When the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake hit, Indonesia dispatched humanitarian aid to Turkey from the Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport Base Ops with a Boeing 737 aircraft carrying 62 search and rescue personnel, a combination of 15 personnel from the National Agency for Disaster Countermeasure (BNPB) and 47 personnel from the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas). As well as a Hercules C-130 carrying logistical assistance weighing 5 tons.[37] [38] [39] Additionally, the Indonesian government sent support 120 medical teams to establish a field hospital in Hassa, Hatay Province. Logistical assistance of 40 tons in the form of medical equipment, medicines, tents, electric generators was also sent along with the medical team.[40] [41] [42]
Indonesian government also ordered the lending of the Hercules C-130 transport plane and its crew to help with logistics in Turkey. The aircraft with a carrying capacity of 10 tons will continue to help with logistics transportation in Turkiye until March 2023. Making Indonesia the only country that lends planes for transportation and logistics in Turkey after the earthquake.[43] [44] Further assistance from the Indonesian government departed on 21 February, with four planes carrying 78 tonnes of food, medicine, clothing and logistical equipment to Turkey.[45]
In the field of defense industry, in recent years Indonesia and Turkey have cooperated in developing joint defense industries. An example of the result of cooperation in the development of the defense industry from the two countries is the development of the Kaplan medium tank.[46]
Turkish aerospace company, Turkish Aerospace Inc, often cooperates with the Assessment and Application of Technology Research Organization (BPPT) to conduct aerodynamics research. Turkish Aerospace Corporate Marketing and Communication Vice President, Tamer Ozmen said, the cooperation between the two parties had been going on since 2008. The collaboration began when developing the Anka unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program. At that time, Turkish aerospace conducted an Anka UAV wind tunnel trial at the Indonesian Low Speed Tunnel (ILST) facility belonging to the BPPT Center for Aerodynamics, Aeroelastic and Aeroacoustic Technology (BBTA3). Turkish Aerospace is also collaborating with BBTA3 for the fifth time in testing the payload capacity of the UAV system at ILST to obtain data on the aerodynamic characteristics of the latest drones being developed by Turkish Aerospace, one of which is the Aksungur combat drone.[47]
