India-Indonesia must work together in maritime security: Prez

Underlining strong historical ties between the two countries, President Pranab Mukherjee has said India and Indonesia must work together in maritime security area to achieve strategic stability and security in the Indo-Pacific and safety and security of sea lanes.
Welcoming Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who is on his first State visit here, Mukherjee said India and Indonesia have age-old bilateral ties and they share a common experience of struggle for freedom from the colonial rule.
Mukherjee said he sees India and Indonesia as two countries providing a bulwark against radicalism and intolerance.
"India values its cooperation with Indonesia to address these common security concerns and transnational threats. Our proximity as close maritime neighbours indicates that this is a key area where we must work together as partners to achieve strategic stability and security in the Indo-Pacific and safety and security of sea lanes," he said.

In his banquet speech yesterday, Mukherjee said India would be happy to contribute to Indonesia's 'maritime fulcrum vision' of Indonesia Nusantara and, thereby, also to the security of the Indo-Pacific region.
"In the multilateral and global context of facing the common challenges of the 21st Century, India and Indonesia, together, are factors of stability for the world," he said.

He said India attaches high importance to Indonesia's success as a pluralistic democracy with an open society based on the shared values of syncretism, tolerance and respect for diversity.
Mukherjee also underlined age-old relations between the
two countries which spanned from Sufism and Islam which travelled from Gujarat shores to Indonesia to modern-day cooperation of Jawaharlal Nehru and Biju Pattnaik with Indonesian founding Fathers--Soekarno, Mohamad Hatta, Sutan Syahrir.

"In the 13th Century, Sufi traders and Islamic missionaries from Gujarat carried Islam to Indonesia - which has evolved into your unique brand of 'Pribumisasi' Islam -that is at the foundations of the social and religious harmony that are seen in Indonesia today," he said.
Mukherjee said epics such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, Hindu and Buddhist images, Sanskrit words and names, the timeless art of ikat and batik are simultaneously a part of common heritage and everyday life in India and Indonesia.
He said during respective national movements for freedom from colonial rule, Indonesian founding Fathers - Soekarno, Mohamad Hatta, Sutan Syahrir worked in close collaboration with Indian national leaders-- Jawaharlal Nehru and Biju Patnaik among others.

"They shared ideas and strategies, and drew inspiration from each other's struggle - in a way that the course of events in one movement often impacted profoundly the other," he said.
Highlighting historical co-operation between two countries at global platform in the form of 1955 Bandung conference and Asian Relations Conference held here, Mukherjee said together Indonesia and India helped to write the closing chapters of colonialism and started the Non-Aligned Movement.
"Today, each of our two countries represents a remarkable pluralism --of culture, ethnicity, religion and language. Your motto 'Bhinneka Tunggal Ika' mirrors our own slogan, 'Unity in Diversity'.

"We are two of the world's largest democracies enjoying a successful strategic partnership; we are maritime neighbours committed to the security of sea lanes of communication and we are both committed to overcome radicalism and intolerance," he said.
Mukherjee said Indonesia is already India's number one trade partner in ASEAN - with a total bilateral trade of close to USD16 billion; and cumulative Indian investment in Indonesia stands at close to USD 15 billion.