Harjanto made German consul

Harjanto made German consul

SURABAYA (JP): The government of Germany has appointed
Indonesian Harjanto Tjokrosetio as its honorary consul here, in a
bid to improve economic and cultural relations between the
European power and East Java.

Harjanto was sworn in at a reception Thursday hosted by German
Ambassador Heinrich Seemann, who expressed hope that the
appointment will result in increased German investment in East
Java.

German investment in Indonesia is concentrated in East Java.
It totals US$1.3 billion, most of which is linked to the power
plant development project in Paiton, Situbondo.

"Our mission is not only to serve and assist German citizens
residing here, but to be the bridge for many opportunities of
economic cooperation," said Harjanto, who studied in Germany
between 1969 and 1976.

"Our German partners are not seeking possibilities with giant
companies. They are more interested in small and medium
companies," he said.

Indonesia is the only country in which Germany has honorary
consuls. They are posted in Medan, Bali and now Surabaya. Some
180,000 Germans visit the tourist island of Bali every year.

Seemann said the appointment of another honorary consul was
not because one of the country's friends, B.J. Habibie, might
well become Indonesia's next vice president.

"This has nothing to do with Mr. Habibie," he said. "I visited
East Java two years ago... and realized that everybody had been
sleeping.

"This is an interesting province with great prospects, and
nobody seemed to realize this," he said. "The process (to appoint
an honorary consul) was a long one, and started before anybody
even talked about the vice presidency for Habibie."

Meanwhile, Antara reported that Seemann intentionally traveled
to Surabaya from Jakarta by car instead of by airplane, to
demonstrate that travel in Indonesia is safe despite widespread
social unrest.

He left Jakarta on Wednesday and arrived Thursday. (26)