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Geography

North Sumatra is a large province stretching from the indian Ocean in the west to the Straits of Malaka in the East and from Aceh in the north to West Sumatra in the south.

Capital

Medan

Governor

T. Rizal Nurdin

Landspace and Population

The province of North Sumatra, which covers an area of 71,680K㎡or 3.7% of the total area of Indonesia, is the ninth largest province in the country. Up to 2000, the population of North Sumatra was up to 11,506,808 people with annual growth rate of 1.2% and population density of 160 per sq.km.

History and Culture

During the Dutch colonial government, North Sumatra Used to be included in an administrative region that covered the whole Sumatra Island. The region was headed by a Governor with Medan as the administration center. The administration system did not change a lot when the government shifted from the Dutch to the Japanese. In 1946, the province of Sumatra was divided into 3 sub-provinces,North Sumatra, Central Sumatra and South Sumatra. Then in 1948, the three new provinces were given the autonomy to manage themselves according to Law No. 10/1948. Therefore, April 15th, 1948 was decided to be the anniversary of North Sumatra province. Eventually, as Law No. 24/1057 was enacted, the province of North Sumatra separated from the other provinces and has the autonomy to manage itself.There are many ethnic groups all over North Sumatra. These groups each have their own dialects, religious beliefs and traditional arts, customs and culture.

Economy and Industry

In 2001, the total GDP was USD 8,675 million (USD 7,580 million in 2000) and Per capita GDP was USD 760. North Sumatra is one of the Provinces nationwide enjoying relatively fast economic growth, 4.83% in 2000, 3.7% in 2001 and 4.8% in 2002. In 2001, the total import reached US$ 861 million and total export amounted to USD 2,295 million. The east coastal land, 36.8% of the total land area, is fertile low land, and with the typical weather of tropical rain forest, is dominated by traditional agricultural planting. The West and hinterland are mountainous area with fishing, planting, horticulture as its main industries. Other industries include tourism, mining, aquaculture and import and export. Tobacco, palm oil, tea and rubber are produced in large quantities, particularly around Medan in the north of the province.

Establishment of Sister Province/State Relationship

On Mar 13, 2002, Mr. ZHONG Qiquan, Vice Governor of GD and Mr. T. Rizal Nurdin, Governor of North Sumatra signed the Agreement to establish the Sister Province Relationship in Medan, Indonesia.

Friendly Exchanges

The friendly exchanges with North Sumatra began in 1995. The early exchanges were characterized by personnel visits and the liaison office is the Indonesian Chinese Council of North Sumatra. The latest high-level visits include, the visit led by North Sumatra Governor in Nov. 2001 during which the Agreement to establish Friendly Cooperative Relationship was signed with the Governor of GD and the visit led by GD's Vice Governor to North Sumatra in March 2002 during which the Sister Province Relationship was formally established.

Establishment of Friendly Cooperative Relationship

Visiting Governor of North Sumatra meeting with GD Governor

Editor: Wing