Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and her husband, Prince Henrik, have embarked upon a historic State Visit to Indonesia, to mark 65 years of diplomatic relations and to strengthen the ties between the two nations.
The Queen and Prince Consort arrived in Indonesia earlier today and spent the day attending informal events ahead of their formal schedule, which is due to start tomorrow morning with a meeting between The Queen and President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, followed by a state banquet in the evening.
The royal couple is accompanied on their tour by Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen, Energy, Utilities and Climate Minister Lars Christian Lilleholt, and a hundred representatives from 64 Danish companies involved in the maritime, agricultural, urban, clean-tech, design and lifestyle sectors.
The launch of the four-sector cooperation between Indonesia and Denmark will also be held on Thursday at Tanjung Priok Port. The Danish Foreign Minister and the Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan and will sign a memorandum of understanding on transportation.
“They will strengthen economic cooperation through a series of business events,” said Danish Ambassador to Indonesia Casper Klynge, speaking about the purpose of the State Visit at a press briefing on Tuesday. “My estimation is the state visit will bring a two-digit outcome in growth of trade. State visits matter a lot to our relationship.”
“Indonesia has accomplished an impressive transition to full-fledged democracy combined with impressive socioeconomic development. Today, Indonesian priority is to secure continued economic growth to address the challenges of the 21st century,” Mr Klynge added. “Despite having the world’s fourth-largest population of 250 million, Indonesia has remained a relatively well-kept secret. As the world is increasingly discovering the potential of Southeast Asia’s largest country, forging closer political and economic ties with Indonesia has become a priority.”
Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik will spend two days in Jakarta, where they will attend a series of cultural events, including a wayang performance, which is a form of traditional Indonesian puppet theatre, and a culinary exhibition with Scandinavian and Indonesian fusion dishes. The royal entourage will move on to Surabaya and Yogyakarta, where The Queen will discuss education and batik (a standard Indonesian method of dyeing cloth) with the students. Meanwhile, Prince Henrik will visit the Ecco shoe factory in Surabaya. Ecco is owned by a Danish family and is the leading producer of comfort footwear globally.
The State Visit coincides with the 70th anniversary of Indonesian independence and is expected to be the beginning of strengthened political, economic and cultural collaborations between the two countries. This tour is a significant for The Queen and Prince Consort, as they rarely undertake more than a couple of visits per year and have never visited the same country twice.
The State Visit, which began today morning, will come to an end on Saturday, October 24, with a press conference attended by the Danish royals in the Prambanan Temple compound.
