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COPENHAGEN. Indonesia and Denmark will cement a closer partnership with the signing of seven memorandums of understanding (MoUs) in various areas of cooperation from maritime affairs to culture during the historic visit of Queen Margrethe II to the country later this month.
Indonesian Ambassador to Denmark and Lithuania Bomer Pasaribu said on Monday the queen’s visit on Oct. 21-24 would mark the beginning of strengthened relations between the two countries.
The queen will be accompanied by her husband Prince Consort Henrik and the Danish foreign affairs and energy, utility and climate ministers. They will also be accompanied by a large trade delegation of businesspeople from 60 Danish companies, mainly from the maritime, agri-business and design & lifestyle sectors, as well as urban and clean technology companies.
During the visit, the queen will hold bilateral talks with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, aiming at boosting relations.
“There are a lot of opportunities for deepening cooperation,” Bomer said at the Indonesian Embassy in Copenhagen.
Bomer added that the expanding ties would be based on triple helix cooperation, comprising government-to-government; business-to-business and university-to-university pillars.
Ministers of the two countries will sign MoUs on various sectors from visa exemption for diplomatic passports; transportation; maritime affairs; renewable energy, clean energy and energy conservation; agribusiness; education and cultural cooperation, to boost the cooperation.
Besides Jakarta, the royal entourage will also visit Surabaya and Yogyakarta where the queen will hold a dialogue on certain topics such as education and batik with Indonesian students.
Bomer added that some Danish education institutions were eager to engage in cooperation with 12 universities across the archipelago such as the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, Syiah Kuala University, Khairun University in Ternate, Diponegoro University, Pattimura University and Sam Ratulangi University.
In Surabaya, the prince consort will visit the Ecco shoes factory, the global leader of innovative comfort footwear. It is owned by a Danish family, but its main production center is located in Surabaya.
The royal couple only makes one or two visits per year and, with the exception of neighboring Scandinavian countries that share royal familial ties, never visits the same country twice.
Danish Ambassador to Indonesia Casper Klynge said this visit would mark a historical year for both countries, celebrating the 70th anniversary of Indonesia’s independence and 65 years of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Denmark.
He underlined that as a sign of Indonesia’s position as an increasingly important trading partner, Denmark’s exports to Indonesia grew by a remarkable 34 percent during the first half of 2015.
“We are therefore enthusiastic to welcome the large Danish business delegation accompanying the royal couple. On top of being the single most important event in our 65-year friendship, I am confident that the state visit will create new business opportunities to the benefit of Indonesia and Denmark alike,” he said recently.
The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) ranks Denmark as the 30th largest investor in Indonesia in 2015.
Some large-scale Danish companies operating in Indonesia include shipping company AP Moller/Maersk Line, shoe company Ecco, toy brand Lego, as well as others like Grundfos, Novo Nordisk, Danfoss, Aria, Bang&Olufsen, ISS and FLS Industries.
Recent Danish projects in Indonesia include the construction of an 800 kilowatt (KW) wind-turbine power plant in East Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara, with the Danish government planning to invest up to Rp 12 billion (US$840,000) in the project. (Yohanna Ririhena)
