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 Belgium |  Indonesia |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Embassy of Belgium, Jakarta | Embassy of Indonesia, Brussels |
Belgium and Indonesia established relations in 1949. Belgium has an embassy in Jakarta and an honorary consulate in Surabaya, [1] and Indonesia has an embassy in Brussels, also accredited to Luxembourg and the European Union.
The relations began in 1947 with Belgian involvement in the Commission of Three Nations, together with Australia and the United States, on resolving Indonesia-Dutch disputes regarding the Indonesian sovereignty. Subsequently, Belgium was among the first European nation that recognized Indonesia in 1949. In December 1949 Indonesia established a representative to the Kingdom of Belgium. [2] In 1963, both nations agreed to upgrade the bilateral relations from representative level to the level of embassy. The mission of the Republic of Indonesia to the European Community was established on 18 August 1990 in Brussels. [3]
In 2005 following the Indian Ocean tsunami, Belgium participated in Aceh Monitoring Mission to supervise the implementation of the Helsinki Peace Agreement between Government of Indonesia and Free Aceh Movement. [3] In November 2008, Prince Phillipe of Belgium visited Indonesia to enhance various cooperation with Indonesia.
In 2008, the Belgium—Indonesia total trade value was 1.28 billion Euros. Indonesia main export commodities to Belgium are wood and furniture products, footwear, clothing, textile, leather, pearls, fishery products, tobacco and machinery equipments. Belgium's investment to Indonesia in 2008 was 16,6 million Euro in 2 projects. On the period between 1990 and 2007, Belgium's total investment to Indonesia is worth 263 million Euro in 49 projects, concentrated in plantations, tiles and glass, steel, pharmacy, garment and textile sectors. [2]
Belgium is the only country in Europe that possess Indonesian-themed Park, "The Kingdom of Ganesha", first opened on 20 May 2009 by Indonesian Minister of Tourism and Culture Jero Wacik. [4] [5] The park that occupies 6.2 hectares of land is the first Indonesian Park in Europe, located at Pairi Daiza Conservation Park, Brugelette, Belgium. Its collections include Pura Agung Shanti Buwana Balinese Hindu temple, East Nusa Tenggara and Toraja traditional houses and miniature replicas of Borobudur and Prambanan temples. In August 2009 the Indonesian government has sent a pair of Sumatran elephants to Belgium to enliven the Indonesian Park. [6] According to Indonesian Ambassador to Belgium Nadjib Riphat Kesoema, the elephants are a special gift to commemorate the diplomatic ties between Belgium and Indonesia which have lasted 60 years. It is the first endangered animal breeding loan program that Indonesia ever had in Europe. [7]
To commemorate 65 years of Indonesia-Belgium relations, two stamps depicting cartoon character Tintin in Indonesia's Komodo Island and Kemayoran (Jakarta), were launched in Brussels, in September 2014. These stamps portraying the scenes of Tintin spending time in Indonesia taken from the Flight 714 to Sydney volume of The Adventures of Tintin comics. [8]
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Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi.2), including adjacent islands such as the Simeulue, Nias, Mentawai, Enggano, Riau Islands, Bangka Belitung and Krakatoa archipelago.
Tourism in Indonesia is an important component of the Indonesian economy as well as a significant source of its foreign exchange revenues. Indonesia was ranked at 20th in the world tourist Industry in 2017, also ranked as the ninth-fastest growing tourist sector in the world, the third-fastest growing in Asia and fastest-growing in Southeast Asia. In 2018, Denpasar, Jakarta and Batam are among of 10 cities in the world with fastest growth in tourism, 32.7, 29.2 and 23.3 percent respectively. The tourism sector ranked as the 4th largest among goods and services export sectors.
Hinduism is a minority religion in Belgium. According to the PEW 2014, Hinduism is also the fastest growing religion in Belgium. Attempts have been done by the Hindu Forum of Belgium (HFB) to make Hinduism an officially-recognized religion in Belgium.
Pairi Daiza is a privately owned zoo and botanical garden located in Brugelette, Hainaut, Belgium. The 65-hectare (160-acre) large animal theme park is located on the site of the former Cistercian Cambron Abbey, and is home to over 7,000 animals. The name is taken from the Avestan word pairi daēza, which is the source of the Persian word paradise.
Indonesia and Portugal established diplomatic relations in 1950. Portuguese explorer and trader first reached Indonesian archipelago during the Age of Exploration in the 16th century in order to search for spices in the Indies.
Indonesia and Spain established diplomatic relations in 1958. Spain identifies Indonesia as their natural ally and has named Indonesia as one of their priority nations in their foreign relations with the Asia-Pacific region. Indonesia has an embassy in Madrid, while Spain has an embassy in Jakarta and a consulate in Seminyak, Bali. Today, the cooperation has expanded to various fields, including trade, culture, education, and defense technology.
Indonesia and Italy established diplomatic relations on 29 December 1949. Italy has shown strong desire to improve its relations with Indonesia, especially in intercultural understanding and trade. Indonesia recognizes Italy's strategic location and important role in the middle of Mediterranean region, while Italy has favoured relations with Indonesia, and sees Indonesia as the leader in Southeast Asia. The relations between two countries not only important to bridge the two regional communities; European Union and ASEAN, but also vital as intercultural and interfaith dialog, since Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world, and Italy is the heart of the Catholic faith.
Indonesia and Morocco established diplomatic relations in 1960. Both are the Muslim-majority countries; Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world, while Morocco is also a Muslim majority nation. Morocco praised Indonesia as a strong democratic nation, and pointed out that both nations face the same challenges of separatism and terrorism. Diplomatic relations were established in 1960. Indonesia has an embassy in Rabat and a consulate in Casablanca, while Morocco has an embassy in Jakarta. Both nations are members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Group of 77, Non-Aligned Movement and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Indonesia and Venezuela established diplomatic relations in 1959. Since then, both countries enjoy friendly ties. Both nations agreed to expand the trade and investment relations, especially in tourism, technology, chemicals and natural gas sectors. Indonesia has an embassy in Caracas, while Venezuela has an embassy in Jakarta. Indonesia and Venezuela are members of multilateral organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), Non-Aligned Movement and Forum of East Asia-Latin America Cooperation.
Indonesia and Switzerland established diplomatic relations in 1952. In 2010, the heads of state of the two countries agreed to launch negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Switzerland has named Indonesia as one of seven priority countries for economic development cooperation. Indonesia has an embassy in Bern, while Switzerland has an embassy in Jakarta, also accredited for East Timor and ASEAN.
Indonesia and Sweden established diplomatic relations on 23 November 1950. In recent years both nations demonstrate growing keenness to improve bilateral relations, as each head of government exchanged visits. Indonesia has an embassy in Stockholm that also accredited to Latvia, while Sweden has an embassy in Jakarta that also accredited to East Timor.
