NOW! Jakarta’s series of Ambassador interviews, which started back in 2023, continues with another incredible roundup of diplomats sharing their thoughts on their home countries’ relationship to Indonesia.
There is so much activity in diplomatic, commercial and cultural interactions that goes unnoticed and unappreciated that we are proud to be able to help to assist in this positive publicity. In this issue’s session, we bring you two very different countries, Sweden and Uruguay. Having had other Scandinavian and South American countries in previous sessions, these interviews fill the gaps on what these regions are bringing to Indonesia.
Introducing the Ambassadors
H.E. Daniel Blockert (DB) is the Ambassador of Sweden to ASEAN and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Sweden to the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. He was born in Stockholm in 1968, and studied Political Sciences, International Relations, Philosophy and Art History at Stockholm University. He is fluent in English and speaks some French.
He served as Ambassador at the Department for International Trade Policy and the EU Single Market at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Stockholm and as Director at the EU-department, Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Before that he was Ambassador and chief negotiator for the EU-UK negotiations, Permanent Representation of Sweden, Brussels, Belgium and was Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sweden to the WTO, Permanent Mission of Sweden, Geneva, Switzerland.
H.E. Cristina Gonzales (CG) is Ambassador of Uruguay to Indonesia and to ASEAN and is Ambassador-designate to the Philippines. Previously she served as Minister, Deputy-Director General for International Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Director for International Economic Organizations, Directorate-General for International Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with responsibility over trade multilateral negotiations, in particular the WTO, as well as the coordination with sectoral ministries and agencies of the participation of Uruguay in other economic international organisations.
Before that she was a Minister Counsellor, Mission of Uruguay to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva, Head of Secretariat of the Directorate-General for Political Affairs, and as Counsellor, Director for MERCOSUR, Directorate-General for Integration and MERCOSUR Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ambassador Gonzalez is married and was born 27 June 1974.
The two ambassadors join in a discussion with NOW! Publisher, Alistair G. Speirs OBE (AGS).
AGS: What have been the high points in the relationship between your country and Republic of Indonesia over the years? Were there any breakthrough moments that stand out?
DB: One breakthrough moment was when HM The King of Sweden visited Indonesia in 2017. That gave both countries an excellent opportunity to showcase our cooperation, bilateral ties, and history together. It was also an opportunity to identify possible future areas for cooperation. HM The King is himself deeply interested in all issues related to climate, environment, and nature, in particular forestry, and, since that visit, sustainable development in all of its shapes and forms has been the main area of cooperation between Sweden and Indonesia.
CG: Uruguay and Indonesia established diplomatic relations in 1966, so next year we will be celebrating the 60th anniversary. One particular highlight of our bilateral relations was the visit to Indonesia of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay in 2016, that led to the opening of a resident Embassy of Uruguay in Jakarta in 2019, as a clear sign of Uruguay’s commitment to develop closer relations with Indonesia.
In 2024 two milestones were achieved: The first, was the visit of the Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries of Uruguay to Indonesia last June, and the signing of a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the agricultural sector, paving the way for activities in an area where Uruguay has a lot to offer to Indonesia.
Also last year, Uruguay obtained halal certification to export dairy and meat products to Indonesia, which is an important step to achieve market access for these Uruguayan products that are well recognised and appreciated at the global level. These new developments set up a solid framework to advance cooperation and trade in a key area of our mutual relations.
AGS: What are the strongest elements in the relationship today? What are the factors and sectors that you are concentrating most on?
DB: The foundation for our cooperation today is something we call SISP – Sweden Indonesia Sustainability Partnership. Within this platform we work in five sectors: industry, mining, health, transport, and energy. The common denominator is that we work together to find sustainable solutions in all sectors. Sustainability is not only about what is sustainable from a climate perspective but must also include social and economic aspects.
CG: I believe that the bilateral relations between Indonesia and Uruguay are now full of promise. Both countries have complementary economies with vast potential to increase trade and cooperation in key sectors that are aligned with Indonesia’s priorities, such as food and energy security.
Uruguay’s expertise in sustainable agricultural production and as one of the top global food suppliers can contribute to Indonesia’s food security through trade in products such as dairy and meat, that are relevant to the nutritious free meal program of president Prabowo Subianto. This also plays a role in the diversification of food supply sources providing not only safe and high-quality products that respect Indonesia’s cultural standards but also more options to the consumers with a positive impact on food affordability.
Furthermore, Uruguay is ready to cooperate in fields such as reproductive technologies for breeding, livestock traceability and disease prevention, which are critical for Indonesia’s goal of enhancing food production.
There are other areas where Uruguay has developed successful public policies and synergies can also be found. Some examples pioneered by Uruguay are:
– The transition to renewable energies, being a leader with 97% of electricity coming from renewable sources and now developing green hydrogen.
– The implementation of innovative financial mechanisms to tackle climate change, such as the first sovereign sustainability-linked bond- with an interest rate conditional to the achievement of the country commitments regarding the reduction of greenhouse emissions and the conservation of forests.
AGS: What about the future, where do you want to take the relationship in the future?
DB: Sustainability will continue to be a core factor in Sweden-Indonesia cooperation in the foreseeable future as well. I hope that we can develop and deepen the relationship also in the social and cultural sectors. The number of Indonesian students that go to Sweden every year increases all the time, and I also see that young people in Sweden are more and more interested in Southeast Asia. Partly because of economic growth and bigger international influence, but also curiosity about culture and traditions, including literature, film, music, food etc. I want to encourage this kind of exchange as well.
CG: Looking at the future, the bilateral relationship has the potential to further develop into a strategic partnership. Uruguay is a reliable partner enjoying a unique position in Latin America, distinguished by its economic and political stability and a strong social contract.
Uruguay is a country committed to multilateralism and the development of friendly relations with all countries, the same as Indonesia. For example, Uruguay and Indonesia are among the major contributors per capita to UN peacekeeping operations.
In times of turmoil and uncertainty as we are facing nowadays, these are important values to build a stronger relationship.
People-to-people exchanges also play a pivotal role to strengthen bilateral relations. They can be fostered by:
– the promotion of tourism: that has been growing lately
– academic engagement between universities and students
– cooperation on sports, in particular football, where we already had a good experience in the past with the training of young Indonesian football players in Uruguay. Those who love football may recall that Uruguay won the first World Cup in 1930 and also in 1950, and continue to advance top class football players known all around the world.
Finally, the engagement between private sector stakeholders is key to promote business partnerships that can boost trade and investments opportunities for the benefit of both countries.
We are looking forward to moving to the next stage of our bilateral relations.
Many thanks to their Excellencies for your time and for such clear and insightful answers. As always, our greatest respect goes to the countries who are trying so hard to assist the progress and development of Indonesia.
A big thank you to AMUZ Restaurant for their kind support in facilitating these conversations and discussions. Find out more about AMUZ here.
