A Note from Ambassador Lambert Grijns | News item

News item | 10-08-2023 | 09:54

While these are important dates to look back and commemorate the past, they also help us better understand the future. And is there any other country that is as future-oriented as Indonesia? This coming year, with the elections coming up, will be crucial in deciding Indonesia’s growth path as a young democracy. I’m sure we will all be affected by the preparations for this huge event.

Youth will play a particularly significant role in these elections, as they will form a large part of the voters. I am glad that we regularly welcome young people at the Embassy, for example, through the A.E. Priyono Democracy Forums (you will read about this in this month’s newsletter).

It is important and inspiring to hear from young professionals and students what their ideas and concerns are, especially with the ‘political year’ already in full swing. We hope to see many of them and those who do not consider themselves young anymore at the forthcoming edition of Pasar Belanda at the Embassy compound on 10 September.

The future should be sustainable. On 25 September, we will mark the anniversary of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by raising the SDG flag. And in October we will organize and host the Indonesia-Netherlands Renewable Energy and Climate Summit in Jakarta. There is no sustainable future without a sustainable energy transition.

Finally, I’d like to welcome a few new colleagues at the Embassy. You will read about all of this, and more, in this month’s newsletter.

Best regards,

Lambert Grijns
Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Indonesia, Timor-Leste and ASEAN

*The formal end of the Second World War was concluded with the Surrender Ceremony on the USS Missouri on 2 September 1945.