Remarks by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto at the Banquet Hosted by President Soeharto of Indonesia

(Provisional Translation)
Jakarta
January 9, 1997

Your Excellency President Soeharto,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen.

I would like first to express my heartfelt thankfulness for this banquet in our honor here this evening, and for most thoughtful words Your Excellency has given just now.

It is indeed a great pleasure for me to visit Indonesia as Japan's Prime Minister, a country rich with history and culture and which has the entire world in awe at its economic development. So rapid is your economy developing that even a Japanese specializing in Indonesian studies cannot possibly keep abreast of developments if he is away from Jakarta for a couple of years. Having this chance to visit Jakarta, I am impressed anew with its dynamism.

I would like to take this opportunity to express once again my sincerest condolence to the passing away of the late Mrs. Tien Soeharto last April who devoted herself together with Your Excellency to the social development of Indonesia.

Mr. President:

I pay my deep respect to Indonesia's development not simply because of the economic advances evident here in its capital. I do so also because I am enchanted with the rich character of the people who make this development possible. Whether it is in urban centers or rural villages, Indonesian society is filled with the spirit of people helping each other, and it is indigenous Indonesian spirit - the spirit of gotong royong - that sustains and advances your economic development. Without loosing these beautiful Indonesian traditions, you have achieved self-sufficiency in food supply and promoted education, medical care, running water and sewer system all over the country. And in the midst of all of this progress, you still retain friendliness and charm that make every Japanese feel comfortable as though it is his real home. I cannot help being impressed with the leadership Your Excellency has exercised over the past thirty years in the nation-building while cherishing Indonesian tradition and culture.

Mr. President:

Having the utmost respect for your economic and social accomplishments, I am also most encouraged for Your Excellency's strenuous efforts in forging close and cooperative relations between our two countries. I am told that there is an old saying in Indonesia "ringan sama dijinjing, berat sama dipikul" to the effect that friends carry the light loads in hand together and shoulder the heavy loads together. In Japan, we say that a friend in need is a friend indeed. This is truly the kind of relationship that we have with Indonesia, and that I hope to keep growing. Japan has long been dedicated to the cooperation for the sake of Indonesian development, and I hereby reassure you that we intend to do everything we can help Indonesia pursue the kind of development you regard as most appropriate.

At the same time, I believe it is indispensable for us to expand a wide range of people to people exchanges, and cultural cooperation to promote and propagate our distinctive cultures, in order to build an unshakable bilateral relationship for the future. Many local governments of the two countries have already embarked upon their own cultural exchange initiatives, and I am glad that through these moves the relationship between our two countries is taking on new depth and new strength in new dimensions. At the opening ceremony of the Japan-Indonesia Friendship Festival here in Jakarta last October, Your Excellency quite rightly pointed out that economic relations should be founded upon strong cultural relations and reminded us all that it was through such relations that we achieved better mutual understanding and have a sense of shared values. I could not agree more.

Mr. President:

Reviewing over our bilateral relationship over the past thirty years and looking ahead toward another thirty years, I am convinced that it is increasingly important for us to consider this bilateral relationship in the context of the entire Asia-Pacific region - a region that is changing with a breathtaking speed.

Over the last thirty years, Your Excellency has worked hard not only for Indonesia's development but also for ASEAN's development. And ASEAN today is expanding as the founding five evolving into the soon-to-be ten and as ASEAN provides the core for dramatic regional cooperation within the region. It is precisely in such a time of transformation that it becomes all the more essential for our two countries to further strengthen our ties and join hands working for stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is in this spirit that I would like to ask you to join me in a toast to His Excellency President Soeharto's continued good health, to the Republic of Indonesia's greater prosperity, and to the further development of friendly and cooperative relations between Japan and Indonesia. Kampai!