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News | 13 November 2013 | 15:24
From 20 to 22 November 2013, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will pay an official visit to Indonesia. He will be accompanied by Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Lilianne Ploumen and Minister of Agriculture Sharon Dijksma. He will also be accompanied by Bernard Wientjes, President of the employers’ organization VNO-NCW, and a trade delegation of 15 Dutch CEOs and representatives of more than 100 Dutch companies.
The trade mission will establish new contacts and strengthen existing ones at various seminars, visits to local companies and participation in an Indonesia-Netherlands business dinner. Talks with President Yudhoyono and Vice President Bodiono will focus on strengthening political and economic ties between the Netherlands and Indonesia.
The Netherlands and Indonesia have long enjoyed close political, cultural and economic ties. The Netherlands is Indonesia’s second largest trading partner in Europe. In 2012, trade between the two countries amounted to 3.5 billion euros. Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia, with an annual growth rate of more than 5%. It offers excellent opportunities for the Dutch business community, especially in the fields of agriculture, horticulture, food processing, water, infrastructure, logistics and healthcare. This is reflected in the composition of the Dutch trade delegation, which consists of representatives of more than 100 companies and research institutions and is the largest such delegation ever to visit Indonesia.
The programme will begin in Jakarta on the morning of Wednesday 20 November with a plenary session of the trade mission. Mr Rutte, Ms Plomen and Ms Deiksma will then take part in a plenary session with representatives of Dutch and Indonesian businesses to strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries. Ms Plomen and Ms Deiksma will then take part in sessions on infrastructure, health, agri-food and horticulture, while Mr Rutte will speak to Indonesian alumni of Dutch universities. In the afternoon, Ms Plomen will visit a health centre to discuss how Dutch health and life science experts can help Indonesia achieve universal health coverage by 2014.
Meanwhile, Mr Rutte will meet with President Yudhoyono and members of his government to discuss the close diplomatic and economic relations between the Netherlands and Indonesia and how to further strengthen them. At the end of the meeting, they will issue a Joint Declaration on the Comprehensive Partnership Agreement, in which the two countries will express their desire to establish an equal, future-oriented partnership. The first day of meetings will end with a formal dinner at the Presidential Palace.
On Thursday morning, 21 November, Mr Rutte and Ms Plomen’s programme will begin with a meeting to discuss the massive sea defence project that Indonesia is planning to build with help from the Netherlands. The project aims to protect people from flooding while developing the coastal area around Jakarta. Mr Rutte will then visit a dredger belonging to Rotterdam-based marine contractor Van Oord, where representatives will present the company’s role in the expansion of the Port of Jakarta. Ms Dixma’s programme on Thursday morning will begin with a roundtable discussion on sustainability in the cocoa sector. She will then discuss cooperation in horticulture, dairy farming and poultry farming with Agriculture Minister Suswono.
In the early afternoon, three members of the Dutch government will have lunch and participate in a roundtable discussion with Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa and 30 CEOs of large Dutch and Indonesian companies. The meeting will be moderated by Bernard Wientjes, Suryo Sulisto (Chairman of Indonesian Chamber of Commerce KADIN) and Sofjan Wanandi (Chairman of Indonesian Employers’ Organization APINDO). Mr Rutte will then visit the coastal areas around Jakarta. During a guided tour of existing sea defences, he will speak to Public Works Minister Joko Kilmantho about the water issues facing the city and the importance of good water management. Meanwhile, Ms Plaumann will speak to Trade Minister Gita Wijawan and National Development Planning Minister Amitābād Alissahbana. Meanwhile, Ms Deksma will speak to Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sharif Cicip Sutardjo to discuss cooperation on food security. She will also attend a meeting on sustainable tropical timber. In the evening, the government members will come together again for a reception hosted by KADIN, APINDO and INO (Indonesian Benelux Chamber of Commerce). Finally, on Thursday evening, they will attend the Indonesia-Netherlands Business Dinner together with the Dutch trade delegation and representatives of Indonesian companies, where several contracts and agreements will be signed.
On the morning of Friday 22 November, Mr Rutte will chair a forum on sustainable production and trade, jointly organized with the Sustainable Trade Initiative. Ms Plaumann will participate in the forum and discuss the importance of sustainable trade and production for the palm oil and pulp industries with representatives of the Indonesian government, NGOs and the business community. Mr Rutte will also have further discussions with Vice President Budiono and lay wreaths at the Indonesian Heroes Monument in Kalibata and the Dutch War Cemetery in Menteng Pulo. Meanwhile, Ms Dexma will visit a factory of East-West Seed Indonesia, a leading vegetable seed company, and FrieslandCampina, a Dutch dairy company. Here, she will discuss the importance of food security and how Dutch companies can help Indonesia achieve it. After the Sustainable Production and Trade Forum, Ms Plaumann will visit BMKG, the Indonesian National Meteorological Agency. With the help of Dutch companies and research institutions, BMKG recently set up a system to improve flood and drought forecasts. The trade mission will end with a lunch and an evaluation of the mission’s outcomes.
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