Dear readers of Happenings!
The festive season is upon us! Although the COVID-19 pandemic still affects the way people are celebrating all over the world, the worst seems behind us. We are starting to get a grip on the virus, and booster campaigns will hopefully enable us to live with the virus the same way we have managed to learn to live with the flu. Slowly, but steadily the world is moving from a ‘survival’ into a ‘recovery mode’. And that in itself is reason enough for celebration.
Recovery is very much at the heart of Indonesia’s G20 presidency that has just started. The motto is: ’Recover together, recover stronger’, emphasizing the need to work together as countries, rich and poor, as economic sectors, as groups representing different segments of society, to increase the chances of a sustainable recovery. The G20 is an important constellation of countries leading the effort in this regard. The Netherlands is therefore proud to have been successful in our lobby to become one of the countries that Indonesia has invited to be a participant in the G20 meetings on top of its permanent members. The embassy team is preparing to support the various delegations that will come to Indonesia to take part in one of the G20 meetings as best as we can.
I regret that it was not possible to have the Dutch community’s Christmas get together, scheduled for 10 December. The intention is to organize a New Year’s event sometime late January to celebrate the New Year and mark the end of the festive season with members of the Dutch community. In due course, you will receive more information.
I take it that by now all of you are familiar with the sudden passing of the son of our ambassador, Lambert Grijns. Thank you for your messages of condolence sent to the embassy. We have forwarded these to the family and Lambert has let me know that they mean a lot to him and his family in these difficult times.
I am writing this message from a friends’ home in Sydney, Australia, where I am self-isolating for three days before I can reunite with my family and start the season’s celebrations. I am happy Annemieke Ruigrok is willing to be in charge of the embassy whilst both Lambert and I are not in Indonesia. Annemieke is very familiar with Indonesia (read more about her in this happenings). I am very grateful that I can spend this special time of the year with my family.
I hope that you too will be able to celebrate surrounded by family and friends. In any case I wish you a relaxed holiday season and a very good start of 2022. May the new year bring us all good health and success in both our personal and professional endeavors.
Ardi Stoios-Braken
Deputy Head of Mission
