Dutch foreign minister to attend RI Independence Day celebrations
Veeramalla Anjaiah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot will arrive in Jakarta on Tuesday to attend the celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of Indonesia's proclamation of independence, and spice up relations with the world's largest Muslim country, the Dutch Embassy said.
"Our Foreign Minister will meet his Indonesian counterpart, Minister Hassan Wirayuda, on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday, he will attend Indonesia's Independence Day celebrations at the Presidential Palace," the Dutch Embassy's first secretary, Usha Gopie, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
The Netherlands was the former colonial master of Indonesia. After 60 years, the Dutch foreign minister is now attending as a special guest at the independence day celebrations. Indonesia proclaimed its independence on Aug. 17, 1945.
Bot, who was born in Batavia (the former name for Jakarta), has been carrying on a diplomatic offensive, especially through his frequent visits to Jakarta, since last year to forge a strong relationship between the Netherlands and Indonesia.
Dutch Ambassador Ruud Treffers also said that strengthening relations with Indonesia was a priority for the Dutch government.
"Strengthening our political relations with Indonesia is a priority. We support Indonesia's unity and integrity," Treffers previously told the Post.
Usha said Minister Bot would attend the opening of a cultural exhibition titled "Shared Cultural Heritage of Indonesia and the Netherlands" on Thursday. The exhibition, at the National Museum in Jakarta, will be formally opened by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The exhibition, according to a Dutch Embassy press release , will feature 300 significant items, both archaeological and anthropological in nature, from the National Museum in Jakarta and the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde (National Museum of Ethnology) in Leiden, the Netherlands These two museums have the largest and finest collections of Indonesian artifacts in the world.
" The exhibition presents the history of the collection and distribution of the Indonesian heritage brought together by the Batavian Society," the press release, which was sent to the Post on Saturday, said.
Among the items to be displayed in the exhibition are six large sculptures from the Singasari period (13th century), important gold finds and palace treasures from Sulawesi, Lombok and Bali; unique ethnographic items from East and West Indonesia, including New Guinea, and the recently discovered Wonoboyo gold hoard.
After Jakarta, the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam will host the exhibition, which will be opened on Dec. 17, 2005.