Indonesia and Spain established diplomatic relations in 1958. Spain identifies Indonesia as their natural ally and has named Indonesia as one of their priority nations in their foreign relations with the Asia-Pacific region.[1] Indonesia has an embassy in Madrid and honorary consulate in Las Palmas, while Spain has an embassy in Jakarta and a consulate in Seminyak, Bali. Today,[when?] the cooperation has expanded to various fields, including trade, culture, education, and defense technology.[2]
Initial contact between the Spanish empire and early kingdoms in Indonesian eastern islands was made in the 16th century, although it was Portuguese, British and Dutch that exercised their colonial rules in the Indonesian archipelago.
During the Age of Exploration in early 16th century, King Charles I of Spain sent Ferdinand Magellan to find the west route to reach the spice islands.[citation needed] During this period, Spain was contesting Portuguese domination in Indonesian eastern archipelago, and briefly ruled North Sulawesi and Tidore in Maluku, before later pushed north to the Philippines archipelago by the Dutch East India Company in 1663. As the result, unlike its Portuguese and Dutch counterparts, Spanish influence in Indonesian archipelago was brief and quite minimal as they established themselves in the Philippines instead.[citation needed]
The diplomatic relations were officially commenced in 1958, followed with the establishment of embassies in each counterpart capitals. In the aftermath of the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Banda Aceh in Sumatra island, Spanish military forces together with other international helps and international search and rescue teams, was involved in the tsunami disaster relief efforts between Aceh and Nias island.[2]
State visits
On 5–8 February 2007, Spanish Queen Sofía visited Indonesia, and inspected Spain's aid projects for reconstruction in Aceh and Nias after the destruction of the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, also a nature conservation project in Gunung Leuser National Park. The queen visited Banda Aceh, Medan, Nias, and Jakarta to pay courtesy call to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. During her visit, the queen expressed her admiration and astonishment of how well Indonesia manages its country despite the enormous diversity of its people.[3]
Technology and defense cooperation
Embassy of Spain in Jakarta
Since the 1980s Spain and Indonesia have embarked on strategic partnership in aeronautics technology, Spain's CASA and Indonesia's IPTN (formerly known as Nurtanio) co-designed and co-produced the CN-235 medium transport aircraft. Later Spain has developed it further into C-295 model and assigned Indonesia for its joint production and as distributor in Asian region, previously Indonesia has ordered nine C-295s. In 2013 Spain and Indonesia have signed a memorandum of understanding to improve the defense cooperation, which include education, planning, innovation, logistical support and acquisition of defense products.[2]
Trade and investments
Total value of trade between two nations reached US$1.92 billion in 2008, US$2.08 billion in 2009, and US$2.18 billion in 2010. The balance of trade mostly in favour to Indonesia, with surpluses from the period 2005–2010, in 2009 Indonesia recorded US$1.58 billion surplus and US$1.62 billion surplus in 2010. Spain ranked the 14th place of Indonesia's export partners that buys coal, copper, palm oil, natural rubber, and electronics. On the other hand, Spain sells airplanes, aluminum, cigarette paper and pharmaceuticals to Indonesia.[4]
Spain's investment in Indonesia is considered not to have reached its true potential since there are room to grow. In five years period (2005–2010), Spain's investment has reached the value of US$48.9 million in 17 projects, mainly on construction, chemical and pharmaceutical, transportation, logistics, storage and communications sectors, mostly located in Java and Bali.[4]
↑ "Kunjungan Ratu Sofia dari Spanyol" (in Indonesian). Ministry of State Secretariat of the Republic of Indonesia. 7 February 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 475,807.63 km2 (182,812 mi.2), including adjacent islands such as the Simeulue, Nias, Mentawai, Enggano, Riau Islands, Bangka Belitung and Krakatoa archipelago.
Aceh, officially the Province of Aceh, is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern end of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west, Strait of Malacca to the northeast, as well bordering the province of North Sumatra to the east, and shares maritime borders with Malaysia and Thailand to the east, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India to the north. Granted a special autonomous status, Aceh is a religiously conservative territory and the only Indonesian province practicing Sharia law officially. There are ten indigenous ethnic groups in this region, the largest being the Acehnese people, accounting for approximately 70% of the region's population of about 5.5 million people in mid-2023.It's area is comparable to Croatia or Togo.
Tourism in Indonesia is an important component of the Indonesian economy as well as a significant source of its foreign exchange revenues. Indonesia was ranked at 20th in the world tourist Industry in 2017, also ranked as the ninth-fastest growing tourist sector in the world, the third-fastest growing in Asia and fastest-growing in Southeast Asia. In 2018, Denpasar, Jakarta and Batam are among of 10 cities in the world with fastest growth in tourism, 32.7, 29.2 and 23.3 percent respectively. The tourism sector ranked as the 4th largest among goods and services export sectors.
Banda Aceh is the capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia. It is located on the island of Sumatra and has an elevation of 35 meters. The city covers an area of 61.36 square kilometers (23.69 sq mi) and had a population of 223,446 people at the 2010 Census, rising to 252,899 at the 2020 Census. The official estimate as at mid 2023 was 261,969.
Indonesia was the first country to be seriously affected by the earthquake and tsunami created by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on 26 December 2004, swamping the northern and western coastal areas of Sumatra, and the smaller outlying islands off Sumatra. Nearly all the casualties and damage took place within the province of Aceh. The time of arrival of the tsunami was between 15 and 30 minutes after the deadly earthquake. According to the country's National Disaster Relief Coordination Agency, around 130,000 people were dead and 37,063 were missing. In addition, the UN estimated that 655,000 people were homeless and sheltering in scattered refugee camps across the province.
Great Aceh Regency is a regency of the Indonesian province of Aceh. The regency covers an area of 2,903.49 square kilometres and had a population of 351,418 at the 2010 Census, 391,870 at the 2015 census and 405,535 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 435,298. The Regency is located at the northwest tip of Sumatra island and surrounds the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, many suburbs of which lie within the Regency. It also includes a number of islands off the northern tip of Sumatra, which comprise Pulo Aceh District within the regency. The seat of the Regency government is the town of Jantho.
Simeulue is an island of Indonesia, 150 kilometres (93 mi) off the west coast of Sumatra. It covers an area of 1,754 square kilometres, including minor offshore islands. It had a population of 80,674 at the 2010 census and 92,865 at the 2020 census. The official estimate as at mid 2021 was 93,762. Its capital is Sinabang.
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 and consulate-general in Istanbul. Turkey has an embassy in Jakarta, 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.
Indonesia and the United Kingdom established diplomatic relations in 1949 and have maintained strong relations since then. Indonesia has an embassy in London while the United Kingdom has an embassy in Jakarta. The United Kingdom considers Indonesia an increasingly important partner globally and is committed to efforts to take bilateral relations to new heights. Both nations are members of G-20 major economies.
Indonesia–Philippine relations are the bilateral relations between Indonesia and the Philippines. The two countries established diplomatic relations on November 24, 1949. Since then, both countries enjoy cordial bilateral relationship in spirit of kinship. The two countries are considered allies and it is considered as one of the most important bilateral relationships in ASEAN. Both countries have established embassies in each capitals, Indonesia has their embassy in Manila and consulate general in Davao City, while the Philippines has their embassy in Jakarta and consulate general in Manado. High rank stately visits have been conducted for years.
Indonesia and Portugal established diplomatic relations in 1950. Portuguese explorer and trader first reached Indonesian archipelago during the Age of Exploration in the 16th century in order to search for spices in the Indies.
Indonesia and Switzerland established diplomatic relations in 1952. In 2010, the heads of state of the two countries agreed to launch negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Switzerland has named Indonesia as one of seven priority countries for economic development cooperation. Indonesia has an embassy in Bern, while Switzerland has an embassy in Jakarta, also accredited for East Timor and ASEAN.
Indonesia and Sweden established diplomatic relations in 1952. In recent years both nations demonstrate growing keenness to improve bilateral relations, as each head of government exchanged visits. Indonesia has an embassy in Stockholm that also accredited to Latvia, while Sweden has an embassy in Jakarta that also accredited to East Timor.
Belgium and Indonesia established relations in 1949. Belgium has an embassy in Jakarta and an honorary consulate in Surabaya, and Indonesia has an embassy in Brussels, also accredited to Luxembourg and the European Union.
Germany and Indonesia established diplomatic relations in 1952. However, relations between the people of Germany and Indonesia has stretched back to 19th-century when a large number of German nationals migrated to Dutch East Indies.
The Czech Republic and the Republic of Indonesia established diplomatic relations in 1950. Both nations have agreed to forge ties to deepen relations, especially in the business and trade sector. Indonesia has an embassy in Prague, while the Czech Republic has an embassy in Jakarta that is also accredited to Brunei, Timor Leste, Singapore and ASEAN, and honorary consulates in Bali, Makassar and Surabaya.
Indonesia and Norway established diplomatic relations in 1950. Since then, Indonesia and Norway has been cooperating in areas, such as climate and energy, democracy and human rights, international political issues and trade. Both nations has agreed to establish a strategic partnership against poverty and climate change, and also in promoting democracy and tolerance. Indonesia has an embassy in Oslo, while Norway has an embassy in Jakarta.
Indonesia–Monaco relations refer to foreign relations between the Republic of Indonesia and the Principality of Monaco. Due to the resemblance of the colors red and white on their flags, the Monégasque government asked Indonesia to modify its flag during the International Hydrographic Congress on 29 April 1952. Ultimately, Monaco and Indonesia came to an agreement by defining the proportions of their flags differently from one another. Monaco's is 4:5, while Indonesia's is 2:3. The two nations are members of the United Nations.
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