Prime Minister Rutte, Minister Ploumen and Minister Dijksma head trade mission to Indonesia
From 20 to 22 November 2013, Prime Minister Mark Rutte will pay an official visit to Indonesia. He will be joined by Lilianne Ploumen (Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation) and Sharon Dijksma (Minister for Agriculture). They will be accompanied by Bernard Wientjes (chair of employers' organisation VNO-NCW) and a trade delegation of 15 Dutch CEOs and representatives of more than 100 Dutch companies.
The trade mission will make new contacts and strengthen existing ones at various seminars, on visits to local companies and at the Indonesia-Netherlands Business Dinner. The discussions with President Yudhoyono and Vice President Boediono will focus on strengthening the political and economic ties between the Netherlands and Indonesia.
The Netherlands and Indonesia have long enjoyed strong political, cultural and economic ties. The Netherlands is Indonesia's second biggest trading partner in Europe. In 2012, trade between the two countries was worth €3.5 billion. Indonesia has the biggest economy in Southeast Asia, growing at more than 5% per year. And it offers the Dutch business community excellent opportunities, especially in agriculture, horticulture, food processing, water, infrastructure, logistics and health care. This is reflected in the composition of the Dutch trade delegation which, with representatives from more than 100 companies and research institutes, is the largest such delegation ever to visit Indonesia.
The programme will begin in Jakarta on Wednesday morning, 20 November, with a meeting of all participants in the trade mission. Mr Rutte, Ms Ploumen and Ms Dijksma will then take part in a plenary conference with Dutch and Indonesian business representatives devoted to strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries. Ms Ploumen and Ms Dijksma will then attend sub-sessions on infrastructure, health, agri-food and horticulture, while Mr Rutte speaks with Indonesian alumni of Dutch universities. In the afternoon, Ms Ploumen will visit a health centre, where she will discuss how Dutch specialists in health and life sciences can help Indonesia achieve universal health coverage in 2014.
Meanwhile, Mr Rutte will meet President Yudhoyono and members of his government to discuss the close diplomatic and economic relations between the Netherlands and Indonesia and how they can be further strengthened. They will close their meeting with a Joint Declaration on a Comprehensive Partnership Agreement, in which the two countries will express their wish for an equal and future-oriented partnership. The first day will close with an official dinner at the presidential palace.
On Thursday morning, 21 November, Mr Rutte and Ms Ploumen's programme will begin with a meeting to discuss the large-scale sea defences that Indonesia is planning with Dutch assistance. The aim is to protect the population against flooding while also developing the coastal region around Jakarta. Mr Rutte will then visit a dredger belonging to Rotterdam-based marine contractor Van Oord, whose representatives will describe the company's part in the expansion of the port of Jakarta. Ms Dijksma's Thursday morning programme will begin with a round table discussion on sustainability in the cocoa industry. She will then speak with agriculture minister Suswono about cooperation in horticulture, dairy farming and poultry.
In the early afternoon, the three Dutch government members will attend a lunch and round table discussion with Indonesian coordinating economic affairs minister Hatta Rajasa and 30 CEOs of large Dutch and Indonesian companies. It will be chaired by Bernard Wientjes, Suryo Sulisto (chair of KADIN, the Indonesian chambers of commerce) and Sofjan Wanandi (chair of APINDO, the Indonesian employers' organisation). Mr Rutte will then visit the coastal area around Jakarta. During a guided tour of the existing sea defences, he will speak with public works minister Djoko Kirmanto about the water problems facing the city and the importance of good water management. At the same time, Ms Ploumen will speak with trade minister Gita Wirjawan and national development planning minister Armida Alisjahbana. Meanwhile, Ms Dijksma will speak with maritime affairs and fisheries minister Sharif Cicip Sutardjo to discuss cooperation on food security. She will also take part in a meeting on sustainable tropical wood. In the evening, the government members will come together again at a reception hosted by KADIN, APINDO and INO (the Benelux chamber of commerce in Indonesia). Finally on Thursday evening, along with the Dutch trade delegation and representatives of Indonesian companies, they will attend the Indonesia-Netherlands Business Dinner, where several contracts and agreements will be signed.
On Friday morning, 22 November, Mr Rutte will open the Sustainable Production and Trade Forum, organised in conjunction with the Sustainable Trade Initiative. Ms Ploumen will take part in the forum and speak with representatives of the Indonesian government, NGOs and the business sector about the importance of sustainable trade and production in the palm oil and paper pulping industries. Mr Rutte will also conduct further discussions with Vice President Boediono, and he will lay a wreath at the Monument of the Heroes of Indonesia in Kalibata and the Menteng Pulo Dutch War Cemetery. Meanwhile, Ms Dijksma will visit East-West Seed Indonesia, a leading vegetable seed company, and a factory belonging to Dutch dairy company FrieslandCampina. Here, she will discuss the importance of food security and how Dutch businesses can help Indonesia achieve it. After the Sustainable Production and Trade Forum, Ms Ploumen will visit BMKG, the Indonesian national meteorological service. With assistance from Dutch companies and research institutes, BMKG recently set up a system for improving the forecasting of flooding and drought. The trade mission will end with a joint lunch and an evaluation of its results.