Dutch-Indonesian economic relations

Dutch-Indonesian economic relations

Trade relations between the Netherlands and Indonesia have
blossomed over the past years. Bilateral trade volume has grown
yearly, with Indonesia realizing a considerable surplus.
Indonesian exports to the Netherlands amounted to US$1.8 billion
in 1997, with Dutch exports reaching approximately $565 million.

As a result of the financial and economic crisis, Dutch
exports to Indonesia dropped sharply, and Indonesian exports also
suffered. In the first quarter of 1999, Indonesian exports to the
Netherlands dropped to $369.7 million. Indonesian imports from
the Netherlands were $60.6 million in the same period. The main
commodities exported to the Netherlands are cocoa, animal feed,
tobacco, coffee, vegetable oils and fats, natural rubber latex,
pulp and waste paper, plywood, manufactured wood products and
coal.

However, the importance of Dutch-Indonesian economic relations
is not only reflected in the volume of our bilateral trade
figures. Investments are a more important indication. The
Netherlands is one of the largest investors in Indonesia, ranking
seventh with a total cumulative investment value of $11.8 billion
during the period from 1967 to 1999. A number of large Dutch
companies have invested in production capacity for the Indonesian
market. Although they were affected by the crisis, it is good to
note that none of the Dutch companies decided
to withdraw from Indonesia.

Indonesian-Dutch bilateral relations have entered a new era of
cooperation with the reestablishment of a structural bilateral
development cooperation. The Netherlands has given the Indonesian
government a $50 million grant to support its poverty alleviation
programs, and has played an active role in the rescheduling of
Indonesian sovereign debt in the framework of the Paris Club
agreement.

The already excellent bilateral relations between the two
countries received a boost from the successful official visit of
President Abdurrahman Wahid to the Netherlands in February this
year. The interest of the Dutch government and the corporate
sector in Indonesia was recently underlined by the visit of Dutch
Vice Prime Minister Annemarie Jorritsma in March. Mrs. Jorritsma
was accompanied by a large, high-level trade and investment
delegation of Dutch corporations. With this mission, the Dutch
companies demonstrated their unabated interest in doing business
in and with Indonesia.

The Netherlands and Indonesia have long-standing, historic
relations. Even more important, however, is the Dutch commitment
to remaining a reliable partner of Indonesia in the future.