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Indonesia-Denmark partnership: How to clear a 11,000 km divide

Indonesia and Denmark might lie at the opposite ends of both the world map and the population-size list

Martin Lidegaard, Mogens Jensen and Rasmus Helveg Petersen (The Jakarta Post)
Copenhagen
Sat, November 29, 2014

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Indonesia-Denmark partnership:   How to clear a 11,000 km divide

I

ndonesia and Denmark might lie at the opposite ends of both the world map and the population-size list. But we are searching for the same innovative solutions to many of the same challenges.

A stronger and deeper partnership between Denmark and Indonesia is mutually beneficial. And let'€™s face it: in a globalized world, the 11,000-km divide is not an obstacle. Our suggestion is that time has come to replace '€” to use a metaphor '€” an analogue relationship of the 20th century with a digital partnership of the 21st century.

Many years of impressive economic growth in Indonesia has resulted in rising living standards, significantly reduced poverty and a growing middle class. This creates new opportunities but also challenges in the years ahead.

The Danish government has set very high ambitions for increasing the bilateral relationship with Indonesia. Politically as well as economically, cooperation with Indonesia is a key priority for Denmark. By working together we can help each other with many of the acute challenges we face, be it globally, regionally or locally.

A strong political cooperation is fundamental. We already work closely together in the UN on defining a new set of sustainable development goals for the world or through a five-nation initiative promoting the convention against torture.

That part of our relationship is alive and kicking.

Time has, however, come to expand that cooperation by focusing on the benefits of sharing our government models and regulatory frameworks, the latest know-how and technology as well as smart solutions to specific problems. In addition to environmental and energy aspects, there is huge potential for sharing experiences and best practices in education, healthcare, food safety and infrastructure.

A few weeks ago innovative leaders met at the Global Green Growth Forum (3GF) in Copenhagen. The 3GF brings creative minds from governments, the private sector and finance institutions from all over the world together with a clear purpose: To discuss how public and private stakeholders can forge state-of-the-art partnerships to achieve sustainable growth.

One of the ambitions of 3GF is to eliminate a frequent misconception, namely that green solutions are only good for the environment and planet Earth.

The truth is that going green is an effective and up-to-date model for creating lasting economic growth. It is simply good business whether you live in Java or in Jutland.

Indonesia has for years played a strong and prominent role through an active participation in 3GF. This is no surprise. As an emerging global leader Indonesia'€™s perspectives are in high demand.

One of the concrete 3GF-deliverables was in fact a brand new partnership between Indonesia, Denmark and the world'€™s largest wind turbine producer Vestas, which will bring wind energy to the island of Sumba.

It shows that by matching cutting-edge technology with concrete challenges it is possible to find solutions that hold the potential for increasing prosperity and job creation '€” in a sustainable way.  

Clean technology is just one example of an area where Indonesia and Denmark can benefit from working closer together.

Today, some of the largest Danish companies are already well established in Indonesia. Many more are eager to follow under the right conditions, which will bring investments and jobs to Indonesia. The Danish shoe producer Ecco is an example. Today more than 8,000 Indonesians work in the Ecco factory in Surabaya.

But trade and investment is not a one way street. It goes two ways. As Indonesia grows, we also see more exports and investments going to Denmark. A number of construction and production companies are already engaged in looking for opportunities in Denmark.

Despite excellent political relations and increases in trade, there is room for more. One way is to bring our government-to-government cooperation to the next level.

Denmark can'€™t quite match Indonesia'€™s more than 17,000 islands. But originating ourselves from an island-country where one is never further than 50 km from a coastline, we share with Indonesia a proximity to the sea that has defined us as a maritime nation.

Try to google the words shipping, maritime safety, port establishment and management, bridge-building or modern fishery and we bet you that Denmark or a Danish company will be among the top hits.

We would therefore be honored to explore ways of supporting President Joko '€Jokowi'€ Widodo in fulfilling his maritime vision.

In order to enhance our partnership we expect to expand our embassy with a pioneering instrument. New staff will be given one very simple task: to work with the Indonesian administration to identify areas and sectors where a direct cooperation with the equivalent agency in Denmark could facilitate the transfer and exchange of knowledge and best practices in order to address concrete challenges.

This will be a demand-driven process where Indonesian officials will tell us exactly where and how our partnership can bring added-value. One example could be the transfer of knowledge and know-how on how to reform or modernize regulatory frameworks under the Ministry for Energy, another how to organize major infrastructure projects in a public-private partnership.

Two other examples could be how to introduce wider use of e-governance or how to set up procurement processes that ensure that the government gets value for money when buying medicine or school-books.

As we speak, a delegation from several provinces in Indonesia is in Denmark on a so-called '€State-of-Green'€-visit to see how we have organized our waste sector.

One of the things they are looking at is how Danish power plants turn waste into energy and then utilize the power to cool or heat our homes. The same technologies could be used to produce energy in Indonesia. And all from the one source we have in abundance in both Denmark and Indonesia: waste.

There is one thing, however, that we do not want to waste. And that is time. While we congratulate Indonesia'€™s new government for taking office we are gearing up to be an even closer partner for Southeast Asia'€™s largest country.

In our view, the increased focus on government-to-government and sectorial cooperation is an essential supplement '€” not a replacement '€” to our existing cooperation.

To put it bluntly, it constitutes a shift towards a contemporary and up-to-date partnership.

Let'€™s get to work.

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Martin Lidegaard is Foreign Minister, Mogens Jensen is Minister for Trade and Development and Rasmus Helveg Petersen is Minister for Climate and Energy of Denmark.

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