Celebrating 50 years of Swedish-RI relations

With globalization and the Information Technology (IT) revolution, the distance between Sweden and Indonesia is shrinking dramatically. The following is an interview with the Swedish Ambassador to Indonesia, Harald Sandberg.

Question: On June 6, 2000, we are celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations between Sweden and Indonesia. What is your message today?

Answer: This is a day when we can proudly look back at 50 years of good relations between our two countries, in good times as well as in more difficult times. Even more, it is a day to look forward to an even closer relationship in the future. Today, Swedish-Indonesian relations are growing wider and deeper than ever.

The two years I have been in Indonesia have been times of difficulties and hardship for the Indonesian people. These same years have also seen profound political change, however, with a new openness, free elections and the establishment of an Indonesian Government with a democratic mandate. These changes have led to a positive increasing interest for Indonesia in my country.

Indonesia's enormous potential, in all fields, is better understood than ever. I also see an increasing interest for Sweden in Indonesia and travel to Sweden is increasing. In March, a delegation of prominent representatives of Indonesian media visited Sweden in order to study the Swedish Ombudsman system, and the newly appointed Indonesian Chief Ombudsman is in close contact with his Swedish counterpart, who heads the world's oldest Ombudsman institution.

What do the relations between our two countries mean to you, as Ambassador?

For me, relations between countries primarily means people-to people relations. The backbone of our relations has always been in trade and industrial contacts. Tetra Pak fruit-juice containers are used all over Indonesia. The yellow Swedish Match matchboxes are recognized by millions of Indonesians. Hundreds of thousands of Swedes have Indonesian products from the furniture chain IKEA in their homes or wear Hennes & Mauritz Indonesian- made clothes. Millions of Indonesian meals are served on Perstorp's Indonesian-made first-class melamine dinnerware. Swedish consumers are enjoying excellent Indonesian pineapple and Indonesian drivers feel safe in Volvo and Scania cars, trucks and buses.

People-to-people relations also come through the many thousands of Swedish tourists visiting Indonesia and learning about this fantastic country. In the cultural field, there is cooperation between the Sonobodoyo Museum in Yogyakarta and the Swedish Ethnographic Museum in Stockholm. Among academic contacts, I can mention that the University of Gadjah Mada cooperates with the university in Lund. August Strindberg's Miss Julie was recently performed in Indonesia in Jakarta. These examples of cultural exchange between our two peoples are what international relations are to me.

And on the Government side?

Our two countries have had a close and active governmental relationship ever since 1950. Indonesia was always interesting for us, i.a., because of its important regional role, its central importance in the North-South Dialog, the Bandung Conference and cooperation between our two counties on issues in the UN. We have had the same interest in a free and open international trading system, built on globally agreed rules in the World Trade Organization.

Sweden has a development cooperation program in Indonesia, traditionally focused on a few areas where we believe that we are well placed to contribute to Indonesian priorities. Forestry and the environment have been prioritized sectors, as well as democracy and human rights. The advent of the crisis made poverty eradication a new priority, and Sweden is one of the main contributors to the Community Recovery Program.

Together with other EU countries, Sweden also participated in funding the UNDP efforts to support the elections in Indonesia in 1999. The Swedish development cooperation minister Maj-Inger Klingvall visited Indonesia in April 2000 and met with President Abdurrahman Wahid, Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri and several ministers, for building a base for continued cooperation between our two countries.

How do you see relations developing?

With globalization and the IT revolution, the distance between our countries is shrinking dramatically. With instant information, we have become neighbors. Sweden is one of the world's most advanced IT nations and can rightfully claim to be one big IT cluster. Ericsson is well known in Indonesia as a leader in cellular phones and telephone systems. IT has been a driving force in the development of high-tech telecommunications hardware and software in Sweden.

Swedish industrial buyers like the global technology group ABB, home appliances Electrolux and Lux, and SKF ball bearings have encouraged the development of a wide range of IT solutions and fostered the creation of a number of today's larger Swedish IT companies. In Indonesia, we see the activities i.a. of IFS, the world's fastest growing business applications supplier, and Scala, the Internet business group.

There is great scope for further and broader relations between our countries. We need to use our new "neighbor relationship", learn to know more about each other and see how we can build "win-win" relationships. I hope for more of cultural exchange, and I foresee an increase in direct contacts between our Governments, including ministerial visits in both directions.

As Indonesia is emerging from the crisis, are Swedish companies coming in as investors?

Indonesia is certainly emerging from the crisis, and we are seeing a normalization in trade and commercial contacts to the benefit of workers, consumers and businesses on both sides. There are however, still challenges to overcome. The financial sector reform must continue in Indonesia, IBRA must pursue its independent work on rebuilding the banking sector. The restructuring of private debt must succeed, so that foreign companies can find financially healthy suppliers, partners and customers to deal with. Environmental and social challenges must be overcome.

Last but not least, the credibility of the legal system must be rebuilt. Business is risk, and the last thing businesspeople want is governments adding risk which cannot be measured. The Government has set it a priority to eradicate corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN). For business, this is indeed crucial. Rules and regulations, be they in taxation, in customs or in other areas, should be transparent and the implementation must be predicable and equally applied to all parties.

I am very much an optimist as to future relations. In May this year, Indonesia was visited by the President of the Federation of Swedish Industries Mr. Per Olofsson, who led a delegation of senior representatives of Swedish industries. The delegation met President Abdurrahman, representatives of Indonesian and Swedish companies here, several ministers, they visited factories, etc. I know that they went back to Sweden with a very positive impression, as they saw the potential of Indonesia's resources, its excellent workforce, etc. I am sure that this visit has contributed toward building a base for future expansion of business between our countries. And increased business will serve as a catalyst for further and broader relations in politics, in culture and in other areas.