Press Release
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State Visit of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to Indonesia
12th to 15th October 2003

At the invitation of H.E. Mrs. Megawati Soekarnoputri, President of the Republic of Indonesia, H.E. Mr. Abdelaziz Bouteflika, President of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria paid a State visit to Indonesia from 12th to 15th October 2003.

This visit, the first ever by an Algerian President since the independence of the country, came within the framework of the historic ties and the strong relations of friendship existing between Algeria and Indonesia.

The visit provided an auspicious occasion for a substantive review on development of the relations between the two countries and for detailed discussions on the ways and means to strengthen further the bilateral cooperation as well as an exchange of views on important regional and global issues of common interest.

The state visit of President Bouteflika to Indonesia was a highlight in the bilateral relations and has definitely led to the further enhancement and deepening of the excellent existing bilateral relations.

During his stay in Jakarta, H.E. Mr. Abdelaziz Bouteflika had several talks with H.E. Mrs. Megawati Soekarnoputri, President of the Republic of Indonesia, on the strengthening of the bilateral relations and carried out an exchange of views on international issues of common interest.

The visit provided the occasion to review the bilateral cooperation and the progress achieved so far. There is a shared willingness motivating Algeria and Indonesia to embark the bilateral relations on a new dynamic. This dynamic was reflected through the historic visit of President Megawati Soekarnoputri to Algeria on September 2002.

It was also reflected through the holding last August of the joint ministerial commission that illustrated the desire of the two countries to enhance the existing bilateral relations and to expand and diversify their trade relations.
Both countries are indeed of the views that there are potentials areas of cooperation that are still untapped and need to be looked into. Moreover, the economic reform and liberalization program pursued by the two countries have provided new opportunities for exploring new economic cooperation. The two countries agreed during the last joint ministerial commission to encourage and intensify the partnership by creating joint ventures and association between economic operators of the two countries.

There is already an increase in the trade volume between the two countries during the last two years (480 Million dollars in 2001 and 220 Million dollars in 2002 compared to 150 Million dollars in 1996). Both countries are, however, of the view that this volume remain below the existing potentials.

The State visit of President Bouteflika provided the opportunity for Algeria and Indonesia to reaffirm their commitment to expand their trade relations widen the scope of their cooperation and increase significantly the opportunities offered by the vast potentials of both countries.

To this end, the two countries have concluded several bilateral agreements such as on the avoidance of double taxation and on the protection and guarantee of investments. This legal framework was reinforced during President Bouteflika's visit by the conclusion of several other MOU's among others on:

- The cooperation on Small and Medium Enterprise,
- The cooperation in the sector of Fisheries,
- The cooperation on Tourism,
- The cooperation between the two chambers of commerce and industry.

This mutual resolve to reinforce and develop further the bilateral relations was also reflected through the presence of 40 businessmen that accompanied the President and explored with their Indonesian counterparts the possibilities of expanding trade exchange.

This visit came at the eve of the OIC Summit and at a time when the international scene has been undergoing major change that effect the interests of both countries. The visit provided therefore an excellent opportunity for the two heads of state to exchange their views on the challenges facing the Muslim countries and on issues of common interest.

Embassy of Algeria in Jakarta.