By Ahmed Mahmoud, Columist & managing editor at Ahram Online
This title leaped to mind as I sat down to write this article about the roundtable discussion organized by the Hiwar Center for Political and Media Studies and the Embassy of Indonesia in Cairo. I had the honor of moderating this session yesterday at the Diplomatic Club in Cairo, where we discussed a study presented by Mr. Muhammad Anis Matta, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia.
The event was attended by His Excellency Ambassador Kuncoro Giri Waseso, Indonesia’s Ambassador to Egypt; Major General Hamdi Labib, Chairman of the Hiwar Foundation for Humanistic Studies and Research; Major General Ahmed Abdullah, former Governor of the Red Sea; sea Admiral Mahmoud Metwally, Chairman of the Naval Salon; and several diplomats, including Ambassador Ahmed Fadel Yacoub, former Assistant Foreign Minister, alongside a group of academic researchers.
Mr. Matta presented a rigorous study, the result of research collaboration between the Foreign Policy Strategy Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the International Relations Department at the Islamic University of Indonesia, titled: “Indonesia’s Integration into the Islamic World – A Roadmap.”
The study outlines a policy document defining the path for Indonesia’s integration with the Islamic world across three main sections:
- Conceptual Framework: Examines the concept of integration, public discourse in the Islamic world, and the opportunities for the Muslim world within a multifaceted global order.
- Contemporary Developments: Addresses the challenges of globalization facing Islam, Indonesia’s perspective as a member of the Islamic world, and key points of convergence.
- The Roadmap Draft: Outlines the capabilities, strengths, and resources Indonesia can leverage to effectively implement this integration.
After listening to Vice Minister Anis Matta’s presentation, it is fair to say that this study is one of the most profound strategic readings coming out of Southeast Asia. It transcends traditional diplomacy to explore the philosophy of “political positioning” amidst what Matta describes as a “stage of international fluidity and the collapse of global norms.”
Matta’s analysis is rooted in the idea that the world is experiencing an era of “the encroachment of strongman leaders.” He traces this trajectory from the invasion of Iraq outside the umbrella of international legitimacy, through American interventions in Venezuela, to the “abduction” and trial of elected President Nicolás Maduro in the United States.
This state of international chaos—compounded by the U.S. withdrawal from over 66 international agreements—signals that the “rules-based international order” established after World War II has effectively ended. Matta argues that nations lacking “strategic mass” will fall victim to the whims of superpowers. Therefore, Indonesia’s integration with the Islamic world is not merely an emotional or religious choice; it is an urgent necessity to build a geopolitical shield against the marginalization of Indonesian decision-making.
Economic Reorientation: The Third Engine
While China and ASEAN nations dominate Jakarta’s trade landscape, Matta sees a vital need to reposition the Islamic world as a primary economic partner. He argues that the Islamic world must become the “third engine” of the Indonesian economy. This shift aims to diversify partnerships, attract intra-Islamic investment, and create a common Islamic market that grants Indonesia greater independence in the face of global economic volatility.
Matta’s philosophy can be summarized simply: The world only respects the strong. Integration is both a means and an end. The means involves strengthening Indonesia internally through strategic alliances in the Middle East; the end is to ensure Indonesia’s voice is influential on the global stage—not as a subordinate, but as a leader of the Global South and the Islamic world, seeking reform and survival against Western colonial encroachment through the moderation that has characterized Indonesian policy since independence.
The Legacy of Bandung and the Palestinian Cause
Indonesia has consistently championed the rights of peoples since the 1955 Bandung Conference. The creation of the Non-Aligned Movement, born from the partnership between Gamal Abdel Nasser and Sukarno, remains the cornerstone of the modern “Global South.”
Bandung was more than a diplomatic meeting; it was a declaration of political will by 29 African and Asian nations. There was a clear harmony between Nasser and Sukarno, as Nasser found in Sukarno an ally who shared his suspicion of old-guard colonialism. The conference established the “Bandung Principles,” emphasizing sovereignty, equality, and non-interference—principles that Matta warns are now collapsing under “strongman politics.”
Today, Mr. Anis Matta presents a vision for a more proactive political leadership. This was evident in his absolute commitment to the Palestinian cause, which he views as the cornerstone of Islamic solidarity and a moral debt. He noted that Palestine remains the only nation yet to achieve the independence that the Non-Aligned Movement once fought to secure for all colonized peoples.
I believe Vice Minister Anis Matta’s study offers a profound reading of the current global political climate. His vision for strengthening ties with Egypt is a brilliant invocation of a shared historical legacy, modernized to meet 21st-century challenges.
This vision deserves careful study by regional powers and further deep discussion involving Egyptian political, cultural, and economic stakeholders. A robust, strategic Egyptian-Indonesian relationship could serve as the bedrock for a new political and economic repositioning for the Middle East and Indonesia alike, standing firm against the storms of neocolonial power.