Jakarta. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has congratulated Dick Schoof who recently rose to power as the new Dutch prime minister, succeeding Mark Rutte.

Jokowi, who will soon step down, said that he looked forward to building stronger bilateral ties with the new prime minister.

“Congratulations to Dick Schoof on your appointment as the prime minister of the Kingdom of Netherlands. I look forward to deepening our nations’ strong and enduring partnership,” Jokowi said on the social media platform X on Monday.

Former spy chief Schoof was sworn into office as the prime minister of the Dutch right-wing government just last week.

On the economic front, Indonesia-Netherlands bilateral trade dropped from $6.2 billion in 2022 to $4.8 billion the following year. Indonesia recorded almost $1.7 billion in trade with the Netherlands in the first four months of 2024, government data showed.

The Netherlands is a member of the European Union (EU). Indonesia is trying to clinch a free trade agreement with the EU no later than this year. 

Last year, Jokowi met with Rutte -- who led the Netherlands for over a decade -- on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in India. Jokowi at the time told the Netherlands to back Indonesia’s membership to the dream rich country club: the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). Jokowi also asked EU member Netherlands not to impose the bloc’s anti-deforestation policy that would hamper Indonesian palm oil from entering the European market.

Indonesia is also about to witness a handover of the presidential baton. Jokowi’s successor Prabowo Subianto will take his oath of office in October. Jokowi has been leading the country for ten years.