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| Newsletter 1/2019 |
| Embassy Newsletter |
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| Welcoming Remarks by Ambassador Kurt Kunz |
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Liebe Mitbürgerinnen und Mitbürger
Liebe Leserinnen und Leser
Chers concitoyens
Chers lecteurs
Cari concittadini
Cari lettori
Wir blicken bereits auf das erste Quartal des Jahres 2019 zurück und es wird Zeit, die wichtigsten Ereignisse seit dem Jahreswechsel Revue passieren zu lassen.
Ende Januar fand in Jakarta der Menschenrechtsdialog zwischen der Schweiz und Indonesien statt. Dabei wurde insbesondere die Weiterführung der Zusammenarbeit im Bereich der Folterprävention vereinbart, wobei die Botschaft beispielsweise Workshops zur Weiterbildung von Polizeibeamten unterstützt.
Die Schweiz und Indonesien wollen ihre Zusammenarbeit auch bei der Bekämpfung der internationalen Kriminalität verstärken. Anfangs Februar unterzeichneten Justizministerin Karin Keller-Sutter und der indonesische Minister für Recht und Menschenrechte Yasonna Laoly in Bern einen bilateralen Rechtshilfevertrag in Strafsachen. Für die neue Bundesrätin war es zugleich der erste hochrangige ausländische Kontakt seit ihrem Amtsantritt am 1. Januar 2019.
Ende Februar unternahm ich meine erste offizielle Reise nach Timor-Leste, um Präsident Francisco Guterres Lú Olo mein Beglaubigungsschreiben zu überreichen. Während meines Aufenthalts traf ich mich sowohl mit Regierungsvertretern wie auch mit vor Ort tätigen internationalen Organisationen und besuchte eine Schule in Palaka, wo die Schweiz ein IT-Ausbildungsprogramm unterstützt.
Ein kulturelles Highlight war der Besuch des Walliser Musikers Marc Aymon in Jakarta im Rahmen der alljährlichen «Semaine de la Francophonie». Mit seiner mitreissenden und offenen Art begeisterte er das indonesische Publikum in mehreren Konzerten mit seiner Interpretation französischsprachiger Volkslieder der Westschweiz. Und kulturell hochrangig geht es auch weiter: Ende April findet in Indonesien das Filmfestival «Europe on Screen» statt. Dabei werden drei Schweizer Produktionen in Jakarta und Surabaya gezeigt.
Zum Schluss möchte ich Sie noch auf die Ankunft des Solarkatamarans «Race for Water» in Indonesien im Juni 2019 hinweisen. Mit dem Ziel, auf die Verschmutzung der Weltmeere durch Plastikmüll aufmerksam zu machen, umrundet das Schiff in fünf Jahren emissionsfrei die Welt. Während seiner Zwischenstopps in Bali und Jakarta sind verschiedene Aktivitäten, wie u.a. der Besuch von Schulklassen auf dem Schiff, geplant.
In diesem Sinne und mit Vorfreude auf die kommenden Monate, wünsche ich Ihnen eine gute Zeit!
Kurt Kunz
Botschafter
Fellow citizens
Dear readers
We are already looking back at the first quarter of 2019 - time to review the most important events since the turn of the year.
At the end of January, the annual human rights dialogue between Switzerland and Indonesia took place in Jakarta. We agreed to continue the cooperation on the prevention of torture. The Embassy for example supports the human rights training of police officers.
Switzerland and Indonesia also want to strengthen their cooperation in the fight against international crime. At the beginning of February, Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter and the Indonesian Minister of Law and Human Rights, Yasonna Laoly, signed a bilateral agreement on mutual assistance in criminal matters in Bern. For the Federal Councilor it was also her first high-level foreign contact since taking office on 1 January 2019.
At the end of February, I made my first official trip to Timor-Leste to hand over the letter of credence to President Francisco Guterres Lú Olo. During my stay, I met with government officials as well as international organizations and visited a school in Palaka, where Switzerland supports an IT education project.
A cultural highlight was the visit of the Valais musician Marc Aymon in Jakarta as part of the annual «Semaine de la Francophonie». With his stirring and open-minded nature, he inspired the Indonesian audience in several concerts with his interpretation of folk songs from the French-speaking part of Switzerland. And the cultural events continue: At the end of April, the film festival “Europe on Screen” takes place in Indonesia. Three Swiss productions will be screened in Jakarta and Surabaya.
At last, I would like to draw your attention to the arrival of the “Race for Water” vessel in Indonesia in June 2019. Aiming to raise awareness about the marine pollution by plastic waste, the vessel is on a 5-year expedition around the world powered by a mixture of solar-hydrogen-kite energies. During its stopovers in Bali and Jakarta, the crew will provide various activities like students' visits to the boat.
In this spirit, I am looking forward to the coming months and wish you all the best.
Kurt Kunz
Ambassador
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| Swiss-Indonesian Relations |
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| Mutual legal assistance treaty between Switzerland and Indonesia |
| Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter and the Indonesian Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly (picture: Keystone) |
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On 4 February 2019, the Swiss Minister for Justice and Police, Karin Keller-Sutter, and the Indonesian Minister of Law and Human Rights, Yasonna Laoly, signed a bilateral agreement on mutual assistance in criminal matters in Bern. The treaty creates the basis for cooperation in detecting and prosecuting criminal activities, in particular corruption and money laundering. It will enter into force as soon as each country’s domestic legal requirements have been met.
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| Human Rights Dialogue between Switzerland and Indonesia |
| Consultations between Switzerland and Indonesia on human rights |
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On 30 January 2019, the annual human rights dialogue between Switzerland and Indonesia took place at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights in Jakarta. The Swiss delegation, led by Ambassador Kurt Kunz, met with Mualimin Abdi, Director General for Human Rights, and his team. They agreed to continue cooperation on prevention of torture and to scope possible cooperation on business and human rights. |
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| Ambassador meets with Ministers of Finance, National Development Planning and Maritime Affairs |
| Ambassador Kurt Kunz and Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati |
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On 8 January 2019, Ambassador Kurt Kunz met with the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, to inter alia inform about the visit of the cutting edge Swiss solar-powered “Race for Water” boat to Indonesia in June and July 2019.
The same week, on 11 January, he met with the Minister of National Development Planning, Bambang Brodjonegoro, to learn about Indonesia’s development priorities and discuss Switzerland’s economic development cooperation.
Finally, the Ambassador met with the Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, on 21 January, to discuss cooperation in various areas such as trade and investment and the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEI).
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| Training police to prevent torture |
| Participants in discussion at the workshop in Medan |
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Fighting torture is a foreign policy priority of Switzerland – also in Indonesia. The Embassy supports the training of police, military, prison and immigration officers in partnership with the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights. In two interactive workshops conducted in Yogyakarta and Medan in February and March 2019, participants learned how to treat persons in accordance with human rights norms while doing their job effectively. They reflected on their practice and formulated personal action plans. The pilot workshops are part of a project that includes the design of training material, the training of trainers and lectures at the prison and immigration academies. |
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| Launch of Asia Entrepreneurship Training Program (AETP) in Jakarta |
| Ralph A. Stamm, Second Secretary, attending the launch of the AETP |
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On 15 March 2019, the Asia Entrepreneurship Training Program (AETP) was launched in Jakarta. The main target of this start-up acceleration program is the promotion of advanced start-ups and social-impact projects that seek funding for an internationalization of their venture in Switzerland and/or the ASEAN countries, with a focus on Indonesia. Through this program, Swiss entrepreneurs can learn about the business ecosystem in Indonesia/ASEAN countries, and Indonesian entrepreneurs can gain access to the Swiss start-up ecosystem. The program is funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation via the Leading House Asia of the ETH Zurich and in collaboration with the ZHAW School of Management & Law. More information can be found here. |
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| Swiss Relations with Timor-Leste |
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| Ambassador Kunz presents his credentials to the President of Timor-Leste |
| Ambassador Kurt Kunz and President Francisco Guterres Lú Olo |
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On 28 February 2019, Ambassador Kurt Kunz was received by the President of Timor-Leste, H.E. Francisco Guterres Lú Olo, in Dili. He handed over the letter of credence by which the Federal Council appoints Kurt Kunz as the new Ambassador of Switzerland to Timor-Leste. The Ambassador also met the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and other government officials. Taking advantage of his first visit to Timor-Leste, he met with Swiss citizens residing in Dili and visited a high school in Palaka, at the border to Indonesia, to evaluate an IT education project supported by Switzerland. Ambassador Kunz informed himself about the political, economic and social situation in Timor-Leste, talking to representatives from NGOs, business, international organizations and other embassies. |
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| Swiss Humanitarian Aid: Monitoring Mission to Palu and Jakarta |
| Swiss Humanitarian Aid in Central Sulawesi: A tent camp in Palu |
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From 20 - 25 January 2019, a delegation of the Swiss Humanitarian Aid visited Central Sulawesi and Jakarta to evaluate Switzerland’s emergency aid after the earthquake and tsunami in Sulawesi (see Newsletter 03/2018) and to discuss possible further assistance with partners and authorities. The delegation, led by Silvio Flückiger, Deputy Head of Humanitarian Aid, visited the three camps built with Swiss support by the Indonesian Red Cross, in which 1220 displaced persons continue to live. The water distribution system donated by Switzerland is still providing 100,000 liters of drinking water per day to about 2,000 people. |
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| Switzerland supports Development of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Systems in Indonesia |
| BRT systems deliver fast, comfortable, and cost-effective services |
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Through its INDOBUS project, Switzerland supports Bandung, Batam, Pekanbaru, and Semarang in developing and launching sustainable transport systems. High-quality Bus Rapid Transit systems deliver important benefits to cities, improve the quality of people’s lives and offer great potential for greenhouse gas reductions. The INDOBUS project is currently conducting feasibility studies in all partner cities to design optimal Bus Rapid Transit solutions for each city. |
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| Building Green Pays! Launching of the Indonesia Green Building Business Cases |
| Ambassador Kurt Kunz launching the "Green Building Business Cases" together with the Green Building Council Indonesia and IFC |
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On 20 February 2019, Ambassador Kurt Kunz together with the Green Building Council Indonesia and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) launched the Green Building Business Cases ‘‘Measuring What Matters: Benefits of Green Buildings in Indonesia”. 11 examples showcased in the study demonstrate that building green and more resource-efficient significantly reduces energy and water consumption. Switzerland has partnered with IFC since 2011 in providing technical assistance to mainstream green building practices in Indonesia and the collaboration has produced significant results. Today more than 20 million square meters of floor space in Indonesia comply with green building principles. It is estimated, that these green buildings will save electricity by more than 1 million megawatt hours and reduce carbon emission by more than 900 thousand metric tons, more than the annual Green House Gas emission of the Maldives. |
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| Cultural and Other Events |
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| La Semaine de la Francophonie |
| Swiss musician Marc Aymon playing with Indonesian students on Car Free Day in Jakarta |
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From 18 - 22 March 2019, the French Institute of Indonesia together with eight Embassies and three Jakarta-based universities organized this year’s Semaine de la Francophonie. Under the slogan “La langue Française, langue d’avenir”, Algeria, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Tunisia, Serbia and Switzerland together with Indonesian partners promoted French language and celebrated the cultural similarities across French-speaking countries. Swiss musician Marc Aymon travelled to Jakarta to officially open the week with a concert as well as engage in a workshop and a collaborative concert on Car Free Day with university students.
At the closing ceremony on 22 March, attended by the Ambassadors of the organizing countries, the Semaine came to a close with an award ceremony for debating competition winners, artistic performances and a “francophone” buffet. |
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| FHNW students visit the Embassy |
| The FHNW students together with Ambassador Kurt Kunz and Embassy staff in front of the Embassy building |
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Students of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz FHNW) visited the Embassy to learn about diplomatic and business relations between Switzerland and Indonesia. The students were welcomed by Ambassador Kurt Kunz and Michael Cottier, Deputy Head of Mission, followed by a discussion with the Swiss Business Hub, Swisscham, Novartis, and the Indonesia National Research Council.
The students’ travel to Southeast Asia is the highlight of their exploreASEAN program. In Indonesia, the FHNW collaborates with the Institut Teknologi Bandung (conducting a Swiss Asian MBA-Program), the Universitas Diponegoro in Semarang and the Indonesia International Institute for Life Sciences i3L in Jakarta. |
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| News from Switzerland Tourism |
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| Switzerland Travel Experience 2019 |
| Ivan Breiter, Switzerland Tourism's Director for South East Asia, at the workshop for Indonesian travel agents |
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On 4 March 2019, Ambassador Kurt Kunz delivered a keynote speech at the Switzerland Travel Experience VIP dinner for Indonesian tour operators and travel agents. A parallel day workshop was organized by Switzerland Tourism at the Raffles Hotel. Indonesian travel agents had the opportunity to get into contact with around 30 Swiss partners from the tourism industry. The workshop also featured presentations showcasing Swiss travel attractions. Indonesian guests generated 97’235 overnights in the year 2018 in Switzerland, more than 5’000 additional overnights compared to last year, which was already at an all-time high.
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| Federal elections 2019 – your vote matters! |
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| News from the Swiss Embassy in Jakarta |
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| Cherika Novianti Hardjakusumah, Astri Retno Onengan, Corina Fuhrer |
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Cherika Novianti Hardjakusumah joined the diplomatic team of the Swiss Embassy in November 2018 as Economic Affairs and Science Officer. She previously worked for Climate Policy Initiative in Jakarta and IATA in Geneva.
Astri Retno Onengan joined the diplomatic team of the Swiss Embassy in January 2019 as the new Cultural Affairs and Tourism Promotion Officer. Previously she worked for the French Cultural Center and the British Council in Jakarta.
Corina Fuhrer joined the diplomatic team of the Swiss Embassy in January 2019 as an intern. She will stay in Jakarta until the end of June 2019. Prior to the internship she completed her PhD in law at the University of Zurich. |
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| Swiss participation in Europe on Screen 2019 |
This year once more the European Film Festival (EFF) “Europe on Screen” will take place in Indonesia from 18 - 30 April 2019. It will screen three Swiss productions in Jakarta and Surabaya: • Before Summer Ends, 2017, Documentary, 80 minutes, 12+ • Blue My Mind, 2017, Drama, Fantasy, 97 minutes, 17+ • Eldorado, 2018, Documentary, 90 minutes, 12+ For more information about the Festival: www.europeonscreen.org
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| Summer 2019: Race for Water boat stopover in Indonesia |
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The high-tech Race for Water vessel, which is powered by wind, solar and water is scheduled to visit Bali on 1 - 13 June and Jakarta on 20 June - 26 July. The Race for Water odyssey and its vessel aim to raise awareness and knowledge about ocean preservation through a variety of programs including workshops on plastic waste or students’ visits to the boat. Should you wish to learn more about the mission or to participate in one of the programs, please contact stopover project manager Virgine Caron at virginie.caron@raceforwater.org. More information can be found here. |
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