Denmark and Indonesia established diplomatic relations in 1974. Denmark has an embassy in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

, and Indonesia has an embassy in Copenhagen. Bilateral relations are strong, as well as the humanitarian response to the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which claimed the lives of 45

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

. In 2015, after focusing on China and South Korea, Denmark is gearing up to enhance its relations with Indonesia, hoping that it will help Denmark to build strong ties with the whole

Southeast Asian Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

region.

History

Danish settlers

Relations between Danish explorers to Java's inhabitants obviously could be traced back to pre-Colonial era in the 17th century following successive waves of Europeans—the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and British—sought to dominate the spice trade at its sources in 'Spice Islands' ( Maluku) of Indonesia. Danish merchants also arrived from Tranquebar, in search of pepper, to Bantenese/Bantamese land in Java. The Danish extended their commercial activities from their settlement in Tranquebar on the Coromandel Coast to various parts of Indonesia. These relations, to a small extent, came into being through the cooperation and advice of Dutchmen who found the road to Asia barred to their own enterprises because of the Dutch East India Company monopoly. The Danish merchants asked Banten's rulers permission to settle and trade.

Sultan of Banten's letters to Danish kings

In order to extend the trade relation, Sultan

Ageng Tirtayasa of Banten Tirtayasa (1631–1695), complete stylized name Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa, also known as Ageng and Abulfatah Agung, was the sixth sultan of Banten (on Java in modern Indonesia) and reigned during the kingdom's golden age. Overview Ageng built a str ...

sent some official letters to King

Frederick III of Denmark Frederick III ( da, Frederik; 18 March 1609 – 9 February 1670) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death in 1670. He also governed under the name Frederick II as diocesan administrator (colloquially referred to as prince-bi ...

and to King Christian V of Denmark. Dated on January 7, 1675, both the Sultan and the Shahbandar of Banten (Western Java) wrote the first letter to King Frederick III of Denmark. The Sultan asked for cannon and powder and mentioned that 176 ''bahara'' (a weight) of pepper, for which there had been no room in the Danish ship '' Færö'', were being kept in store. Another letter from the Sultan of Banten to King Christian V of Denmark is dated February 15, 1675. The Sultan again mentions the 176 baharas of pepper which had been deposited by Captain Adeler with the Banten nobleman, Duke Angabèhi Cakradana of Bantam. Due to massive Dutch traders approaching Java, Dutch conquered Bantam. The Danish no longer had permission to trade in Sunda Kelapa.

Modern era

Diplomatic relations between

Kingdom of Denmark The Danish Realm ( da, Danmarks Rige; fo, Danmarkar Ríki; kl, Danmarkip Naalagaaffik), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (; ; ), is a sovereign state located in Northern Europe and Northern North America. It consists of Denmark, metropolitan ...

and

Republic of Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. Ind ...

were established. A Danish embassy were opened in 1974.

Political cooperation

In 2007, President of Indonesia

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (born 9 September 1949), commonly referred to by his initials SBY, is an Indonesian politician and retired army general who served as the sixth president of Indonesia from 2004 to 2014. A member of the Democratic Party ...

met with the Danish Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, in New York City. Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs

Per Stig Møller Per Stig Møller (, informal: Per Stig; born 27 August 1942 in Frederiksberg) is a Danish politician. He was a member of the Folketing (Danish national parliament) for the Conservative People's Party from 1984 until 2015, and was Minister for ...

visited Indonesia in 2007.

High-level visits

On 17 December 2009, President

visited Copenhagen to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Queen

Margrethe II Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is Queen of Denmark. Having reigned as Denmark's monarch for over 50 years, she is Europe's longest-serving current head of state and the world's only incumbent femal ...

of Denmark and the Prince Consort visited three Indonesian cities from 21 to 24 October 2015: Jakarta, Surabaya and Yogyakarta. The Danish royal visit was meant to strengthen the Indonesian–Danish relationship in culture and trade. They headed a Danish business delegation of around 50 companies that mainly represented four sectors: maritime, urban and

clean technology Clean technology, in short cleantech, is any process, product, or service that reduces negative environmental impacts through significant energy efficiency improvements, the sustainable use of resources, or environmental protection activities. Cle ...

, agri-business, and design and lifestyle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denmark-Indonesia relations Indonesia Bilateral relations of Indonesia