COUNTRY PROFILE -- THE NETHERLANDS
\nARTICLE PROVIDED BY THE EMBASSY<\/p>\n
Message from the Ambassador of the Netherlands, Mr. Ruud
\nTreffers, on the occasion of the celebration of Queen's Day on
\nApril 10, 2003<\/p>\n
----<\/p>\n
The official celebration of the birthday of Her Majesty Queen
\nBeatrix of the Netherlands, our national day, presents a good
\nopportunity to reflect upon the relations between Indonesia and
\nthe Netherlands. It is with great pleasure that I can observe
\nthat our bilateral relations are broad-based and in good shape.<\/p>\n
This goes for the cooperation between our respective
\ngovernments, as well as for the manifold relations between
\nindividuals and organizations from both countries.<\/p>\n
Historic and cultural ties<\/p>\n
The solid and historical foundations on which the relationship
\nbetween the Netherlands and Indonesia is built, provide a sound
\nbase for constructing new and vital relations.<\/p>\n
Both our countries are still in the process of dealing with
\nour past and some issues can still be sensitive. Take for example
\nthe commemoration of 400 years of the VOC last year, which was
\nnot welcomed by everybody. At the same time the relations between
\nour countries have significantly improved during the last few
\nyears and our common past has also proved to be a source of
\ninspiration.<\/p>\n
A good example of this is our cultural cooperation in the form
\nof frequent performances and exhibitions at our cultural center
\nhere, Erasmus Huis, as well as in the many activities to preserve
\narchives, monuments and objects of art. There are only two
\ncountries in the world where the Netherlands has its own cultural
\ncenter: the Institut Nierlandais in Paris and the Erasmus Huis in
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
The importance of Indonesia in Dutch foreign relations is also
\na result of the large number of people in the Netherlands of
\nIndonesian descent. About 750,000 to 800,000 people living in the
\nNetherlands have their roots in Indonesia, which is about 5
\npercent of the Dutch population. For this reason many Dutch
\npeople are interested in developments in Indonesia and in the
\nrelationship between Indonesia and the Netherlands. And it also
\nexplains why you can find an Indonesian restaurant in every city
\nand village in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n
Development cooperation<\/p>\n
Of prime importance for the Netherlands in its bilateral
\nrelations with Indonesia is the territorial integrity of
\nIndonesia, and support for the transition of the country toward a
\nsolid democracy and a free economy.<\/p>\n
This support is materialized through an intensive development
\ncooperation relationship with Indonesia, which was resumed in
\n1999. Indonesia is now the largest recipient of Dutch development
\ncooperation, with an amount of approximately 60 million euro per
\nyear.<\/p>\n
This makes the Netherlands one of the largest donors of grant
\nfunds in Indonesia. Poverty alleviation is central in the
\ncooperation with Indonesia. Assistance is given to sectors marked
\nas priorities by the government of Indonesia, namely a)
\neducation, b) good governance, c) water management and d)
\ncommunity recovery.<\/p>\n
Sectoral approach<\/p>\n
a) In the education sector alone the Netherlands is spending
\n30 million euro annually directly on basic education. The
\nIndonesian authorities indicate to which schools in the poorest
\nareas the money should be allocated for the repair of school
\nbuildings and scholarships for students.<\/p>\n
b) In the area of good governance the Netherlands contributes
\nto the so-called Partnership for Governance Reform. The
\npartnership has chosen several priority sectors to promote good
\ngovernance. The most important are: a clean, fair and transparent
\nlegal system, effective public service, participation of society
\nin the reform process and civilian control over security and
\norder.<\/p>\n
Within these sectors special attention is given to the current
\ndecentralization process, judicial reform and the fight against
\ncorruption.<\/p>\n
c) In September 1998 the Community Recovery Program (CRP) was
\nlaunched in response to the severe financial and economic crisis
\nthat has hit Indonesia since July 1997. The CRP is not only
\nfocused on poverty alleviation, but also on developing a network
\nof community-based organizations throughout the country to tackle
\nstructural conditions that trap the poor in poverty. Another
\nprogram in this sector is the Kecamatan Development Program (KDP)
\nconducted by the World Bank. The Dutch grant to KDP made it
\npossible to reach one out of every four villages in Indonesia and
\nenabled the program to conduct small-scale infrastructure, social
\nand economic activities.<\/p>\n
d) The largest program in the area of water management
\nsupports the further strengthening of Water Users Associations
\nfor the management of irrigation networks in 13 provinces.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, our country remains willing to provide emergency
\naid and reconstruction assistance to regions in need. An example
\nof this is the humanitarian aid to Maluku and North Maluku to the
\namount of six million euro per year.<\/p>\n
Cooperation through multilateral agencies<\/p>\n
The majority of the Dutch funds are channeled through
\nmultilateral agencies such as the World Bank, the Asian
\nDevelopment Bank and the United Nations Development Program,
\nwhich are responsible for the supervision and coordination of the
\nfunds.<\/p>\n
This means that Dutch funds are not being used to finance
\nstand-alone Netherlands projects, but are always mainstreamed in
\nIndonesian policies and in multilateral financing. In this way
\nthese contributions benefit from a leverage and aim to be
\neffective and sustainable.<\/p>\n
Economic relations<\/p>\n
In the economic field, a lot of Dutch companies are
\nestablished in Indonesia. While it may be true that Indonesia is
\ntrading more with Asia and with the United States than with
\nEurope, the Netherlands is still a major investor in Indonesia
\nwith investments amounting to 220 million euro in 2002.<\/p>\n
Intensive bilateral trade between Indonesia and the
\nNetherlands of more than 1.7 billion euro in 2002 resulted in a
\nlarge trade surplus for Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The Netherlands offers several financial instruments to
\nstimulate trade relations between Dutch and Indonesian companies.
\nOne of those instruments is the Program for Cooperation with
\nEmerging Markets (PSOM). The Netherlands and Indonesia have
\nrecently decided to continue this program, which aims at
\ncofinancing pilot projects in order to facilitate long-term
\ninvestments and to promote a lasting trade relationship between
\nIndonesia and the Netherlands.<\/p>\n
Tourism<\/p>\n
Unfortunately the Indonesian economy, and especially the
\ntourism sector, has been adversely affected by terrible events
\nsuch as the Bali attacks, the war against Iraq and only recently
\nthe outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in the
\nAsian region.<\/p>\n
For the revival of the tourist industry, of which Dutch
\nvisitors have always been enthusiastic and regular clients, it is
\nimportant that Indonesia continues to take all necessary steps to
\nprevent terrorism and other forms of violence from happening in
\nthis country.<\/p>\n
The same goes for preventive measures against the spread of
\nSARS. By implementing and highly publicizing these confidence-
\nbuilding measures, I am convinced that tourists will start coming
\nback to Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Study in the Netherlands<\/p>\n
A continuous contribution to the strengthening of the
\nfriendship between our countries is made by the exchange of
\nstudents. Many Dutch students and scientists visit Indonesia
\nevery year, while many Indonesian students are given the chance
\nto study in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n
The opportunities by means of scholarships and grants for
\nstudying at one of the many universities and institutes of
\nprofessional education in the Netherlands are manifold and still
\nincreasing. The Netherlands Education Centre in Jakarta is the
\nplace to get information or personal advice on this matter.<\/p>\n
This interest in the Netherlands is also expressed by the fact
\nthat each year the Erasmus Language Centre in Jakarta attracts
\nalmost 2,000 students for its courses. This large number can
\npartly be explained by the need to learn the Dutch language and
\nto study Dutch law and history in order to fully understand the
\nIndonesian legal system and the history of the country, but also
\nby the many personal contacts that exist and still grow.<\/p>\n
It is my hope that the special bond many Indonesian and Dutch
\npeople feel toward each other will continue to exist for many
\nyears to come.<\/p>",
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