News Mix

IVAnews – Dutch Ambassador to Indonesia, Tjeerd de Zwaan, believes the relationship between his country and Indonesia has been very strong. The postponed state visit of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to the Netherlands last year, for example, would not disrupt the solid partnership between the two nations.

“It is important that we should not focus solely on the issue of the postponement of the visit because it is not a qualification of the bilateral relationship,” de Zwaan told VIVAnews at the Embassy of Netherlands in Jakarta, March 2011.


De Zwaan also said the Dutch government does not recognize the existence of the Republik Maluku Selatan (RMS). An activist of the separatist groups filed a lawsuit to the local court in The Hague to arrest President Indonesia - because of some alleged human rights violation cases - if he paid a visit to the country. The court rejected the lawsuit, but President Yudhoyono had decided to postpone the visit.

“The Dutch government has made it very clear: First, we recognize the unity and the national integration of Indonesia. Second, the Dutch government does not recognize a group called RMS,” de Zwaan emphasizes. Although both countries have yet to set a new timetable, the ambassador is sure that when both sides think that the time is right, they would see a possibility to reorganize the visit

The Utrecht-born senior diplomat also highlighted that the relationship between the two nations has been going strong in many sectors, ranging from economics, trade, culture, to football.