TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The past two months have been eventful for Vincent Guerend, 47, the European Union Ambassador to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam.
In April, he oversaw the visit of EU High Commissioner Federica Mogherini to Jakarta, who came to intensify cooperation between the European bloc and Indonesia. A month later, President Joko Widodo reciprocated by flying to four countries in Europe, including Belgium where he visited the EU headquarters.
The President also met with European businessmen and managed to bring home US$20.5 billion-worth of investment commitment. This commitment is expected to evolve into concrete cooperation and intensify Indonesia's trade relations with the EU. "He had a clear message: Indonesia is an emerging economy, it's reforming," Guerend said.
Besides strengthening economic relations, the EU Ambassador also believes that there are other aspects of cooperation which can be improved, such as in the areas of tourism and education. In May, the EU held 'Europe Month' to promote Europe to the Indonesian public.
Indonesia, in fact, is no new terrain for this diplomat, who is a French and German national. Between 2004 and 2009, he advised Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy, as member of Cabinet and then Deputy Head of Cabinet and was in charge of Asia, including in particular Indonesia and ASEAN.
Europe Month has just ended and Guerend will start his visits to Eastern Indonesia on the second week of June, including Kupang and Papua. Amid his busy schedule, Guerend spoke to Tempo English reporters Amanda Siddharta and Hermien Y. Kleden at his office at Central Jakarta, last May. Excerpts of the interview:
What will be the follow-up to President Joko Widodo's visit to Europe in May?
The President and the government have a strong agenda: that we should invest in Indonesia. So now is the time to start discussions on the CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement). We're now in a position to officially announce the formal opening of trade negotiations with Indonesia. This is one of the main positive outcomes for both sides.
When it comes to implementation, sometimes agreements don't measure up. What about CEPA?
We're not talking about a memorandum of understanding. We're talking about a real international treaty, which will be ratified by the European Parliament. I think the EU has a good record in terms of implementing its international obligations. When this treaty is signed and ratified, we will stick to our commitment and implement it. But this is a few years down the road.
The EU is currently the second trading partner for Indonesia, but our import market in Europe is less than one percent. How can we increase it?
It's true that Indonesia has very little share: the import market is less than one percent. It is on both sides, by the way. We also punch below our weight. There's certainly big scope for progress. And that's why we strongly believe this CEPA will be a huge opportunity to boost trade.
What is Indonesia's biggest challenge in exporting to the EU?
In addition to tariffs, we are quite demanding in terms of norms and requirements. We have cooperative programs where we help exporters of nutmeg and seafood, to better understand and comply with our rules.
Now that the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is launched, how can we learn from the EU experience?
We do not consider ourselves a model, because European integration has its ups and downs which are very specific to Europe and our history. But we are certainly ready to share our experience. Last year, a group of experts from ASEAN visited Europe to see, listen, and take a few things which they liked, leave a few things they disliked. We're happy to have an open book in terms of integration history, and to let ASEAN be inspired or not, by our experience. We strongly support the AEC vision, and it's implementation. As a matter of fact, we have increased significantly our assistance: 170 million Euro to ASEAN as an institution, but also to the various member countries (individually).
On the Brexit referendum,what is the EU's stance in it?
Well, every country has the right to decide whether to stay or leave. Now the UK government decided to put a question that would be on the referendum on June 23. It would be for the British people to decide. Let's see how it turns out. Of course from the European point of view, we all want the UK to remain in the EU. We believe that the UK is a very strong member state.
How do you think it would impact the world if the UK leaves?
Here I can only quote someone like President Obama, or President Jokowi when he was in Europe. Both said very clearly that they see a strong interest in seeing the UK remain in the EU. That's their point of view as non-EU leaders. (*)
Read the full interview in this week's edition of Tempo English Magazine
