VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

 Indonesian Minister of the Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya received Dutch Minister of Infrastructures and Water Management Cora Van Nieuwenhuizen in Jakarta on Monday to discuss cooperation in waste management and climate change.

The two ministers agreed to continue and strengthen cooperation in waste management, circular economy, water quality and climate change contained in a memorandum of understanding (MoU), according to a written statement received here.

Siti Nurbaya said circular economy aimed at eliminating waste and continual use of resources is now trending in Indonesia. Several companies including Danone, Nestle, Unilever and Tetra-pack have taken steps in favor of circular economy.

She said 33 Indonesian cities have imposed a ban on single-use plastic bags.

After all, the Indonesian government has been extra cautious in making the waste management policy in view of the country's large demography and the varying spectrum of the demography.

Meanwhile, Minister Cora hailed the signing of the MoU on circular economy. "The Netherlands also has experience in processing waste into energy as part of circular economy. There is a business delegation in charge of this issue, which also joins the visit to Indonesia this time."

He said the Dutch government is developing a new project called fishing for litter. The project which involves business entities is aimed at recycling plastic waste into usable items.

"We invite the minister of the environment and forestry to visit the Netherlands to get first hand information about that," he said.

Minister Cora also invited the Indonesian minister for the environment and forestry to attend the Global Commission Summit scheduled for October 2020. At the forum the Indonesian government will have a chance to unveil a variety of programs to control climate change in Indonesia.