Steinmeier's visit signals a new phase in Indonesia-Germany ties

Jakarta (ANTARA) -

The visit of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to Jakarta on June 15 extended far beyond the busy diplomatic schedule at the Merdeka Palace.

Steinmeier's arrival in Jakarta marked his fourth visit to Indonesia, underscoring the country's growing significance in Germany's foreign policy.

Amid global economic uncertainty, the energy transition, and the evolving geopolitical landscape of the Indo-Pacific, relations between the two countries have become more strategic than they were a decade ago.

During his meeting with President Prabowo Subianto, discussions went beyond trade or investment, encompassing energy, climate change, education, culture, and skilled workforce development.

This wide-ranging cooperation underscores the evolution of Indonesia-Germany ties into a strategic partnership in multiple areas of development.

One highlighted issue at the discussion was the accelerated completion of the Indonesia-European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA).

For Indonesia, this agreement opens up opportunities for greater market access within the European region.

As for Germany, the largest economy in the European Union, the agreement serves as a crucial instrument for strengthening economic ties with one of Southeast Asia's most influential countries.

Discussions on expanding trade and investment are taking place against a broader backdrop of intensifying global competition for investment.

Developing countries are no longer simply competing to offer large domestic markets, but also to ensure regulatory certainty, infrastructure readiness, and the ability to provide a workforce tailored to the needs of modern industry.

As a result, one of the most significant outcomes of the visit was in the employment sector, where Indonesia and Germany agreed to deepen cooperation in developing a skilled workforce, including through partnerships in nursing and high-tech industries.

The signing of a Letter of Intent on the Global Skills Partnership in nursing is one concrete step resulting from the meeting between the two heads of state.

From Indonesia's perspective, the partnership is not merely about expanding job opportunities abroad, but also facilitating the transfer of skills and standards, enhancing workforce training, and strengthening links between education and industry.

Germany's vocational education system has long been regarded as a benchmark for its ability to effectively bridge the gap between education and the labor market.

To understand the significance of Steinmeier's visit, it is necessary to look back to 2012, when Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed the Jakarta Declaration, laying the foundation for closer bilateral ties.

The document initiated the Indonesia-Germany comprehensive partnership, which remains a reference today. It consisted of cooperation in the economics, education, research and technology, health, the defense industry, and several other sectors such as energy, food, and transportation.

Fourteen years later, many of the issues discussed during Steinmeier's visit remain anchored in the same framework, although the strategic environment surrounding the partnership has changed significantly.

In 2012, the world was still recovering from the global financial crisis. At the time, geopolitical tensions were not as intense as they are now, while concerns over supply chain resilience, the energy transition, and competition for strategic resources had yet to emerge as major priorities for many countries.

Those circumstances had shifted where conflicts in various regions, the fragmentation of global trade, and the growing demand for minerals and clean energy have transformed the way countries build international partnerships. In this context, Indonesia and Germany are increasingly finding their interests overlapping.

Indonesia possesses the strategic resources needed for global industrial transformation. Germany, on the other hand, possesses technological experience, industrial capacity, and the need to expand its partnership network beyond Europe.

The relationship between the two countries has evolved beyond trade to become one related to each other's economic transformation.

This is evident in the growing attention paid to the energy sector and green industry. Indonesia is promoting the downstreaming of natural resources and the development of renewable energy, while Germany is a country with extensive experience in the energy transition and the development of environmentally friendly technologies.

The interests of both parties stood on a common ground: the need to build a more sustainable economy without sacrificing growth.

However, the greatest challenge lies not in formulating commitments, but in the implementation stage.

Many cooperation agendas have been diplomatically agreed upon over the years. Some have evolved into concrete projects, while others have progressed more slowly than expected.

Therefore, the success of the Indonesia-Germany relationship will not be determined by the number of memorandums of understanding signed or the number of agenda items announced at press conferences.

What matters most is whether the partnership can translate into tangible benefits, including increased investment, broader employment opportunities, improved workforce quality, and stronger industrial competitiveness in both countries.

Steinmeier's visit also forms part of preparations for the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Germany in 2027. Seven and a half decades of bilateral relations have seen various political and economic changes, both in Jakarta and Berlin.

Over the years, Indonesia's position has also changed. It now stands as the largest economy in Southeast Asia with growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region. These changes have also transformed the way European countries view Indonesia, including Germany.

Steinmeier's visit forms part of a broader and longer-term process than a single day of diplomatic engagements. Indonesia-Germany relations are entering a phase in which cooperation is driven not only by political goodwill, but also by increasingly compelling strategic interests on both sides.

The two countries are moving in this direction as they seek to translate their commitments into more concrete forms of cooperation.

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Translator: Aditya Ramadhan, Resinta Sulistiyandari

Editor: Azis Kurmala

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