"We can say that now we are enjoying the best time of our diplomatic relations. Both countries have decided to elevate that relationship to a more strategic level in recent years," Kucukcan said in a special interview with ANTARA, here on Monday.
He said that although the two countries are celebrating the 75th anniversary, the relations between the Turks and the Indonesians actually have a history of 500 years.
On the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations, the ambassador believes that relations between the two countries are at their best, given the many collaborations and visits that have been carried out by the leaders and representatives of both countries.
This relationship was marked by Turkey's recognition of Indonesia in the early days of independence. Turkey was also one of the first countries to appoint an ambassador to Jakarta.
The closeness continued to strengthen when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Indonesia to attend the G20 Summit in Bali in 2022.
The peak of relations between the two countries was marked by the establishment of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council -- a new cooperation mechanism between Indonesia and Turkey -- with the first meeting of the council taking place in Bogor in February this year.
Following this, President Prabowo visited Turkey to meet President Erdogan and address the Turkish parliament, a unique opportunity that demonstrated the close relationship between the two countries, the ambassador said.
Prabowo also attended the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, where many leaders from around the world gathered.
However, the ambassador noted that relations between the two countries are getting stronger and developing thanks to close cooperation in the fields of trade, culture, technology, and defense.
Seeing President Prabowo's priority programs for defense, food self-sufficiency, food security, education, and distribution of healthy food as well as building new homes for millions of people, Turkey considers these programs so important that they want to be involved in them.
That is why one of Turkey's priorities is to always increase interaction with Indonesia, especially considering Indonesia's position as one of the largest and most influential powers in Southeast Asia.
"In Southeast Asia, Indonesia emerged as one of the biggest powers and also a very influential country. Turkey emerged in the Middle East and just nearby Europe as an influential actor. So we wanted to bring our forces together," said the ambassador.
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Reporter: Katriana
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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