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Norwegian Crown Prince to visit RI to strengthen ties
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(www.kongehuset.no)Recently, Scandinavian leaders have been showing a great deal of interest in the rising, democratic Indonesia. Swedish Prime Minister Frederik Reinfeldt was in Jakarta last week.
This time, it is the turn of Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit to visit Indonesia to strengthen the entire gamut of bilateral relations between the two countries.
“The Norwegian Crown Prince and Crown Princess will be visiting Indonesia from Nov. 25 to Nov. 28. It will be the first ever visit to Indonesia by members of our royal family,” Norwegian Ambassador to Indonesia Stig Traavik told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
The young and energetic Crown Prince will be arriving in Jakarta on Sunday evening with a big mission ahead of him.
“The main purpose of the visit is to upgrade our relationship in key areas. It will focus on the main strategic areas, such as trade, investments, human rights, health, climate change, education, fisheries, tourism and energy, including renewable energy,” Ambassador Traavik said.
The royal visit comes at a perfect time when Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, the largest in the world with assets of US$654 billion and the owner of 1 percent of global equity markets, is changing its own rules so as to invest in countries according to their gross domestic product (GDP) levels.
“In the coming years, billions of dollars worth of investment will flow into Indonesia from Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund. Our present investment here is valued at only $650 million,” Traavik said.
During his four-day visit, according to Traavik, Haakon will meet President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday to discuss ways and means to foster cooperation and partnership between the two countries.
He will also meet ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan. On Wednesday, the royal entourage will travel to Yogyakarta, the cradle of Javanese culture.
The two countries are expected to sign several important agreements in the fields of education, tunneling and underground technology, and energy during the visit.
Traavik said Norway would be providing $5.4 million under a new agreement to Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta for joint research. Norway’s state oil company, Statoil, will sign another agreement with the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).
In an effort to boost economic ties, Haakon will be bringing with him a 100-strong business delegation. He will also open the office of the Innovation Norway at the Norwegian Embassy in Jakarta on Tuesday.
At present, bilateral trade between Indonesia and Norway is very small. In 2011, based on Norwegian statistics, bilateral trade stood at $272.81 million but, according to Indonesian statistics, trade value was $309.52 million.
“This visit will really boost bilateral trade by a huge amount in the near future,” Traavik said.
While he is in Jakarta, Haakon will address the bilateral human rights dialogue, a business forum and a seminar on climate change.
In 2010, Norway pledged $1 billion to Indonesia to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation under the REDD+ program over a period of six or more years.
