Speaking notes for Melanie Schultz, Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment, for the Joint Meeting on Future of the bilateral water cooperation, Jakarta

Toespraak | 02-04-2014

Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

Selamat siang! (Good afternoon)

It's good to be back in Indonesia.
This is not my first visit to your country.

I was here 9 years ago as State Secretary for Transport, Public Works and Water Management.
It was shortly after the tsunami.
The terrible images of Bandah Atjeh are burned into my memory.
The total devastation was unforgettable.
Unforgettable, too, the sight of a ship that had been tossed high onto the land.
A symbol of the frightening power of water.

I came to Jakarta then, as now, to talk about the effects of sea level rise and land subsidence.
Our 2 countries agreed to work together on these water issues, which are so familiar to us both.

If there is 1 thing I want to stress today, it is my deep respect for your country's resilience.
Because Indonesia has achieved a great deal.

Your economic statistics are impressive: an annual growth rate of 5 to 6%!
You aim to be 1 of the 7 largest economies by 2030.
The keyword is dynamism.
Indonesia is a country in transition.

And you look beyond the figures.
You want to make people less poor. And provide them with security, good health and better prospects.

In all this, water is a key factor.
Your many social and economic ambitions depend on good water management.
And that is a typically Dutch subject.

Our country's existence depends on good water management.
1/4 of the Netherlands is below sea level.
2/3 would flood immediately if we had no dikes and dams.

So the battle against water is something that Indonesia and the Netherlands have in common.
We even use the same words: irigasi, peil and polder.

Water adds an extra dimension to our mutual historic ties.
And the importance of water in our present-day relationship is growing.

It was no coincidence that water was one of the main themes of Prime Minister Rutte's visit to Indonesia last year.
And 1 of the main topics discussed by Mr Rutte and president Mr Yudhoyono.

Similarly, it was no coincidence that Vice President Boediono visited the Maeslantkering storm surge barrier during the Nuclear Security Summit in the Netherlands last week.
We also talked extensively about the importance of good water management.

My visit follows in this trend.
My aim is to take our cooperation in the area of water to the next level.

That's why I haven't come alone.
My delegation includes 18 companies and research institutes. They see this as an opportunity to enter into new relationships, and bolster existing ones.

The conditions are favourable.
The Netherlands and Indonesia have been working together for a long time.
Our relationship is formalised in an MOU.

And we do more than just talk; we also get things done.
Take our collaboration on the Semarang Banger Polder project, and the development of the Lowlands Strategy.

And I am proud that, this week, we can present the Master Plan by the National Capital Coastal Development Project - the outcome of a joint effort!

The Plan will protect Jakarta against flooding.
At Indonesia's request, Dutch and Indonesian organisations worked very hard together to develop it.
And we would like it to have a follow-up.

Our MOU will expire in 2015.
This is a good time to take stock.
Where do we stand?

First, our cooperation covers a broad range of water themes:

• flood safety;
• water for food and ecosystems;
• water supply and sanitation;
• water governance; and
• water and climate.

Second, a broader range of participants have joined the MOU.
More ministries from both the Netherlands and Indonesia. And other parties, too, like the city of Rotterdam and DKI Jakarta.

That's why I want to scale up the MOU to a level in keeping with this broader scope: an agreement between our countries.

An agreement that will also include all the parties who joined us in the MOU.

This would do justice to the complexity of water issues. And shift the focus from technology to organisation.

It would also do justice to the broad nature of water challenges; challenges that reach deep into our societies.

And - finally - it would do justice to the close, historical relationship between Indonesia and the Netherlands.

I look forward to hearing your response.
And I invite all the participants of the Joint Steering Committee to the Netherlands in September, so that we can discuss this matter further.

I hope that this means an extra boost to our cooperation.
And that - together - we will be able to make water less of a problem and more of an opportunity.

Thank you. Terima Kasih.