On the auspicious occasion of the National Day of the Republic of Indonesia — the 61st anniversary of the Independence Day — which is celebrated globally on Aug. 17 2006, I have great pleasure today to convey my heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to all Indonesian people.
Today’s anniversary marked the completion of six decades that have passed from the day our heroes proclaimed Indonesia’s independence on Aug. 17, 1945. From that historical day, Indonesia has undergone remarkable changes, developments and progress. Along that paths of successes, Indonesia, however, have been confronting with challenges, difficulties and disasters.
The year of 2005 and the first half of year 2006, for instance, have been extraordinary period of trial and tribulation. Indonesia had to overcome a deadly tsunami disaster, which killed around 200,000 Indonesians in two regions — Aceh and Nias. Our country and people also faced the scare of the spread of the deadly avian flu. And above all, Indonesia dealt with a series of terrorist attacks in Bali and Jakarta. We also recently suffered from natural disasters in some areas such as earthquake in Central Java, tsunami in Pengandaran of West Java and so forth.
Alhamdulillah, and also thanks to the perseverance and endurance of our people, we succeeded to overcome all these problems, difficulties and challenges. The tenacity exercised by our people and leaders in confronting these hard tests and times have come from the noble characters inherited by our people and nation from the sermons taught by our heroes.
I am proud to say that during these difficult times, we in Indonesia keep pursuing reform agenda in various areas such as politics, economy, trade and so on. The political reforms, which were launched in the midst of a financial crisis and political turmoil seven years ago, have turned Indonesia into a democratic and prosperous country that is fast moving toward self-reliance in different sectors.
It is also heartening to note that during these difficult times, our country struck a peace deal in Aceh, which eventually led to an end of 30 years of bloody conflict. This extraordinary achievement is an invaluable contribution to the global peace by a peace-loving nation like Indonesia.
On the economic and investment reform fronts, Indonesia has been pursuing policies aimed at macroeconomic stability, high economic growth, improved investment climate and legal certainty, as well as competitive infrastructures for development.
Indonesia’s basic strategy for creating a favorable investment climate has been a relentless pursuit of reform. At the same time, Indonesia overhauled its financial and banking sector with added stress on transparency and accountability. Today Indonesia continues to cleanse its society and its bureaucracies, a campaign that calls for getting rid of tainted elements in Indonesian society.
On the legal front, Indonesia has set up a strong legal basis for reducing uncertainty. It has eliminated major regulatory barriers in order to encourage more free competition. And it also has established a market-based pricing policy. Those measures of reformation on economic, business and trade areas would surely favorable for economic growth for Indonesia. The economic rewards of our reforms are evident. Growth has been picking up steadily and reached 5.6 percent in 2005.
We hope to achieve an average of 6.6 percent growth in the next five years. Income per capita has returned to pre-Asian Crisis level, at $1,500. Investments are increasing at a rate of 11 percent a year.
On this happy occasion, I am delightful to note that Saudi-Indonesian bilateral relations have been progressively growing. Saudi Arabia stands in the heartland of the Islamic world, while Indonesia is home to the world’s largest Muslim population.
We have a long tradition of brotherhood and solidarity. On various occasions when Indonesia was in difficulty, Saudi Arabia came forward and extended a helping hand. It has been one among the first of our friends to assist us in alleviating our difficulties. On the political front, the two countries share common approaches on a host of regional and international issues.
Hence we share a sense of kinship that dates back to the time Arab traders used to visit that archipelago state in the 12th century to trade and propagate Islam. Today, that kinship can become greatly beneficial to our countries, and we should develop it further to build a vibrant partnership between people and governments of Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.
On a concluding note, let me take this opportunity to share my fervent appeal to all Indonesians living in Saudi Arabia — let’s keep up the hard work and consolidate solidarity and unity among ourselves. Our motto is to pursue peace, prosperity, justice, stability and better future for generations to come.