Indonesia-Netherlands ties enter a new era
Indonesia-Netherlands ties enter a new era
Indonesia and the Netherlands, whose relations hit rock bottom in 1992 when Indonesia barred Dutch development aid, are entering a new era of cooperation which will most probably be strengthened with Queen Beatrix's planned visit to Indonesia in August this year.
Indonesia was tied to the Netherlands for more than 3 centuries. The Netherlands did not recognize Indonesia's declaration of independence on Aug. 17, 1945, and only reluctantly transferred sovereignty to Indonesia in December 1949. The subsequent development of diplomatic ties between the two sovereign states was overshadowed by their shared past for quite some time.
A closer relationship began after the advent of the New Order in 1966, particularly after the founding of the Inter- Governmental Group on Indonesia (IGGI) in 1967, a consortium of donor countries and institutions which was headed by the Netherlands. The warm relations broke down 25 years later when Jakarta felt that Jan Pronk, the chairman of IGGI, went too far in using his position to intervene in Indonesian domestic politics. Early in 1992 President Soeharto unilaterally dissolved the IGGI. The IGGI was replaced in the same year by the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) which does not include the Netherlands.
An attempt to mend the relationship was launched last January with the simultaneous launching of two fora: the Forum Nederland Indonesia in The Hague, chaired by Piet Bukman; and the Forum Indonesia Nederland in Jakarta, chaired by Radius Prawiro. The establishment of these bilateral organizations is very timely, as Indonesia celebrates 50 years of independence this year and relations between the two countries have matured to mutual respect.
This new development is underlined by President Soeharto's recent remark that these centuries of relations have had a deep and profound meaning for each of the two nations.
It is against this background that Indonesia wholeheartedly welcomes the state visit of Queen Beatrix to Indonesia next August.
Very timely
The timing of the Queen's visit is most fitting. Developments in the European Union, APEC and ASEAN over the last few years have established an entirely different world environment.
The Netherlands is one of the founding members of the European Union which intends to integrate further and has also expanded in size. Indonesia is a member of ASEAN with its Asean Free Trade Area and of APEC which also aims to create a free trade area.
A round table conference in Jakarta is being organized to take place on the 50th anniversary of the Indonesian independence. The conference, proposed by the Forum Indonesia Nederland in Jakarta and welcomed by its sister organization in The Hague, will not be a meeting between governments, but a private initiative -- from "civil society to civil society" the founders of the forum organizations like to say.
Committees representing a broad spectrum of the two societies are working out ideas that can be discussed in August. Six committees have been set up on both sides, covering the economy and business, science and technology, education and culture, politics, social and cultural relations, and environment and natural resources.
The area of economy and business has the largest potential for growth. The key players are entrepreneurs in both countries. The government's only responsibility is to encourage and facilitate.
It is most encouraging to observe that the establishment of the Forum in both countries has made a good start. It reflects the existence of goodwill and hope, not only on the part of high level representatives of society, but also prominent ministers representing the government.
The Forum is nonpolitical and noncommercial. It serves as a people-to-people link and intends to stimulate closer contacts and fruitful dialog and cooperation between the two nations. Rather than dwelling on the past, the Forum is oriented towards the future. The past should be regarded as bases on which to develop continuing relations and to enrich the respective roles of the two nations, both regionally and globally.
The statements and observations made during the launching day of the Forum, Jan. 12, 1995, were positive. In Jakarta, two ministers, Coordinating Minister for Economy and Finance Saleh Afiff and Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro were present to make statements.
Economic ties
The Netherlands has invested a total of US$6.8 billion in Indonesia, and is ranked sixth among investing countries.
Opportunities for further Dutch investment are plentiful, particularly when exploiting traditional strengths in technology, management and services.
Most Indonesian companies, with some notable exceptions, are concentrating on developing the home market and limit their expansion to Southeast Asia and countries in the surrounding regions. However, as pointed out by Dutch entrepreneur Morris Tabaksblat, alliances and joint ventures with Dutch companies would boost Indonesian investments in Europe, particularly now that economic recovery is clearly taking place.
Bilateral trade between the two countries still favors Indonesia, which exported $1.08 billion worth of goods to the Netherlands in 1993 while importing $626 million worth of goods during the same period.
Materials for this article were taken from Forum Bulletin, Vol. 1, 1995.