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FOR COUNTRY Profile
Swede

Broader and deeper relations

To coincide with the Swedish National Day today, the country's
ambassador to Indonesia, H.E. Harald Sandberg, who has been on
assignment here for four years, shares his views on many things,
including bilateral ties between Sweden and Indonesia and his
fondness of motorcycles.

Question: During your four years here, have you had a "motto"
that gives you direction in your work?

Sandberg: Well, maybe I see it more as a motto that we have at
the embassy, rather than something of my own. What we are doing
is really a group effort, with the Swedish and Indonesian staff
working together. But, yes, we have tried, in all different
fields of work of the embassy, to be led by the concept "to
deepen and broaden relations".

Our two countries have long-standing good and close relations,
dating back to Indonesia's independence. We have cooperated at
the UN on North-South issues, we have had academic and cultural
exchange, exchange of travel and tourism and, last but not least,
the backbone of our relations over the years, a very healthy
trade and investment relationship.

Relations between two countries, for me, primarily mean
people-to-people relations, and that's why it is so important to
encourage broad relations in as many fields as possible. Sweden
is an active supporter of the Partnership for Governance Reform;
we have supported cooperation between the Raoul Wallenberg
Institute for Human Rights in Sweden and the Ministry of Justice
and Human Rights, as well as with the National Commission on
Human Rights (Komnas Ham) and the National Commission on Women
(Komnas Perempuan).

We have supported the Indonesian Ombudsman's contacts with the
Swedish Ombudsman and the Swedish International Development
Cooperation Agency (SIDA) is also supporting the cooperation
between Radio Republic Indonesia (RRI) and Radio Sweden
International, with the aim of contributing to RRI's introduction
of the concept of public service broadcasting.

We have, in our cooperation, also focused on the environment
and on sustainable development. Sweden and Indonesia have common
ground in that they are both countries with large forests, and we
have had Swedish experts here working with the Indonesian
forestry sector to safeguard the environment. In all these
efforts, we are trying to support Indonesia's own reform
priorities, within areas where we believe that we have a
competence useful for sharing with Indonesia. I see very much a
two-way street, where both parties are sharing experiences and
learning from each other.

You said that the backbone of relations over the years has
been trade and investment?

Yes, we don't always think about it that way, but when you are
talking people-to-people relations, it is really globalization in
trade and investment that has meant the most in all our contacts
between countries. When I see an Indonesian-made product in a
Swedish IKEA store in Baltimore in the U.S., that's when I really
feel the extent the world is changing. I strongly believe that
this change is for the better -- it is open trade, open borders,
tolerance for other people's beliefs and cultures, a free market,
strong institutions and society built on law that has given a
large degree of wealth and security to the peoples of the
industrialized world. The challenge for the 21st century is to
deliver security and wealth also to the majority of the world's
population, living in the developing countries. Globalization
gives structural adjustment, which means changes in society.
Structural adjustment is never easy, but it is still
globalization that delivers hope for our future.

Swedish and Indonesian trade is now back to precrisis levels,
with mutual bilateral trade now at around 500 million U.S.
dollars per year. Hidden behind these figures you will find the
traders of Elof Hanson contributing to wealth on both the Swedish
and Indonesian sides as well as the Indonesian drivers that are
safe in Volvo cars. Also, behind the figures are all the Lux and
Electrolux home appliances used in many Indonesian homes and the
many Indonesian and Scandinavian travelers with SAS. Welding
specialists ESAB and Avesta Polarit are delivering jobs and
wealth to Indonesian families and millions and millions of
Indonesians are talking to each other over Sony Ericsson cellular
phones and Ericsson telephone exchanges and equipment. And, of
course, when talking about industry and trade as people-to-people
relations, one must not forget the many Swedes with Indonesian
furniture at home, or using Indonesian-made clothing and
textiles.

During my years in Indonesia, representatives of Swedish
companies have formed a Swedish Business Association (SBA) here
in Jakarta. Later this year the embassy, together with the SBA
and Indonesian counterparts, is planning an event to exchange
views on an open world, open trade and free markets, where
industry, organizations and academics will get a chance to
exchange views on building wealth. During my years here, I have
also seen the Indonesian Swedish Association, with a broader
agenda on expanding contacts between our two countries,
reactivate itself and widen its activities, including in the
cultural field.

Yes, what about the cultural field?

There are long-standing relations also in the cultural field.
Academic institutions in Sweden and Indonesia have cooperated in
different fields, and the Sunobodoyo Museum in Yogyakarta has an
active relation with the Ethnographic Museum in Stockholm,
Sweden. There have, of course, been many more contacts in
academia and culture over the years, with and without the
involvement of the embassy. As interest on both sides is growing
we are also trying to contribute from the embassy.

This year, we are organizing a large art exhibition at Gedung
Arsip Nasional -- it will in fact be opened tonight by the
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs, Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono. We have invited nine contemporary artists from
Sweden, and they will display over 100 works of art.

Some of the participating artists will come to Jakarta, to be
present at the exhibition and to meet Indonesian colleagues, art
students and a hopefully interested public. This exhibition, I
hope, will fuel a mutual interest to learn more about our two
cultures. We have also invited noted Swedish archaeologist Bengt
Edgren, who will meet with interested parties in both Jakarta and
Yogyakarta to discuss the preservation of historical sites, and
who will share his experience of such work in Sweden.

I understand that you own a motorcycle?

I first started to ride a motorcycle when I was going through
officer's training in the Swedish Army many years ago. I took it
up again some 10 years ago, and actually became the President of
the Swedish Foreign Ministry's Motorcycle Club. I do have a
Harley-Davidson motorcycle here in Jakarta, and I use it a little
to relax and to have some fun. It is a good contrast to the daily
life of a diplomat!