When the governor of Jakarta, Joko Widodo, recently held a meeting with Danish ambassador to Indonesia, Martin Hermann, the flood plaguing Jakarta was one if the issues on the agenda. The governor and the ambassador discussed possible partnerships in tackling flooding in Jakarta as the city continues to grapple with one of the worst rainy seasons in years. Here Hermann expressed that Denmark could aid the capital by a number of projects related to flood mitigation.
Although rain does not usually poor over Denmark in the same way as in Jakarta, Copenhagen experienced a devastating flood in 2011.
The Danish capital was inundated when torrential rains pounded the city for ten consecutive days, Herman said.
“It caused huge financial losses in many areas, both for the public and government,” he said. It is not a problem that you can solve from one day to the next. We collaborated with many different stakeholders to put together a plan on how we could deal with the changing climate and increasing rainfall,” he said.
Hermann added that Danish Minister of Trade and Investment Pia Olsen Dyhr would likely follow up on the offer in a visit to the city in early March. Hermann said that Dyhr’s visit would look at how Danish technology and know-how could benefit Jakarta and would also explore how Denmark could learn from Jakarta’s experience.
Joko said he welcomed all discussions about technological developments to solve Jakarta’s perennial flooding problems.
The vist from the Danish Minister of Trade and Investment will take place from March 3 – 5.
Source: The Jakarta Post
