It is her fifth visit to Indonesia, following trips in 2012, 2016, 2018 and a 2020 state visit with King Willem-Alexander. This year’s visit comes as Indonesia aims to reach high-income status by 2045 amid global tensions and trade disruptions.

Maxima previously served for 15 years as the UN secretary-general’s special advocate for inclusive finance for development before being appointed to her current post by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in September 2024.

The queen arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, on Monday evening aboard Dutch flag carrier KLM.

Her first field visit on Tuesday took her to PT Glory Industrial Semarang’s garment factory in Sragen, Central Java, where she met workers participating in the RISE (Reimagining Industry to Support Equality) program. The initiative supports the financial health of garment workers and reaches 117,531 workers across 78 factories in Indonesia.

After the factory visit, Máxima traveled to Surakarta to tour Kampung Batik Laweyan, one of the oldest batik villages in the city, where artisans, often women, continue to produce batik by hand using canting, a pen-like tool that applies liquid wax to cloth. During the visit, she spoke with batik entrepreneurs about financial health and how they balance business and household needs.

Speaking to reporters in Central Java, the queen said her visit aimed to understand how workers, particularly women in the garment sector, manage their finances for both daily needs and long-term goals. She noted she had met factory workers, students and entrepreneurs to hear about challenges such as paying for children’s education.

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