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View all search resultsIndonesia and Norway: Cementing middle power cooperation in a turbulent time
A constructive collaboration between Indonesia and Norway on many issues in the global arena could serve as a distinctive model of cooperation among middle powers.
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Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq (left), Norwegian Ambassador to Indonesia Rut Kruger Giverin (second left) and Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni (second right) attend the launch of the fourth phase of a Result-Based Contribution funding cooperation on Dec. 10, 2024, in Jakarta. (Antara/Prisca Triferna)
W
ho would have thought that although thousands of miles apart, there exists centuries-old historical connections between Indonesia and Norway. At that time both countries had not yet been formed in the way we understand it today and in the case of Indonesia it was under the Dutch colonial power.
It was in this era of exploration and ocean voyages of the late 1500s, that a Dutchman by the name Willem Barentsz led a naval expedition in search of shorter routes from Europe to the spice islands—a well-known location in the Eastern part of today’s Indonesia.
They were adamant that if they could discover a new route to Asia by sailing through the Arctic and north of Russia (the Northeast Passage), the length of sea travel will be shortened by a year.
During his third exploration attempted in 1596 and after sailing along the coast of northern Norway and moving up north toward the Arctic, Barentsz and his crew discovered an archipelago.
This archipelago, situated in the upper North of the Arctic circle is now known as Svalbard and is becoming one of the most strategic territories in Norway. Especially in the view of their threat perception due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Another connection, although anecdotal in nature, has a lot to do with liquor fermentation. Legend has it that in 1805, a cargo ship containing several barrels of aquavit, a traditional Scandinavian liquor made from potatoes, sailed from the city of Trondheim in central Norway to Batavia.
For an unexplained reason, the liquor in the barrels was then shipped back to Copenhagen in 1807. The story goes that due to the long voyage and after passing twice the equator, the aquavit had a distinctive taste, the so-called "(equator) line effect."
