INDONESIAN PRESIDENT JOKO AND AFRICAN LEADERS FORGE STRONGER TIES AT INDONESIA-AFRICA FORUM IN BALI
Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and African leaders are in Bali to hold the Indonesia-Africa Forum (IAF).
“Indonesia is committed to being part of the global solution,” Joko said on Monday. He called on maintaining solidarity for Global South interests as international solidarity seemed on the wane.
He warned that “international solidarity is actually decreasing. The spirit of multilateralism is increasingly being shunted, and fragmentation is growing wider.”
He urged, “We need a new direction and vision; we need new strategies and tactical steps.”
The said forum was graced by 22 African countries that came accompanied with leaders, among them leaders from Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and Ghana.
Jokowi revealed that this year’s forum aims to seal business deals worth 3.5 billion dollars, a value almost six times higher than realized in the 2018 forum. Projects include geothermal energy and health technology advancements.
Indonesia is working on policies that will increase the participation of the Global South in supply chains.
The Jokowi administration is also focusing on preparing for future pandemics, including exports of vaccines and pharmaceuticals.
More so, Indonesia has been eyeing African lithium supplies to help produce electric vehicles and batteries.
“We hope to become a production hub for EV materials,” said Vice Foreign Minister Pahala Mansury. “Africa has valuable minerals such as cobalt, lithium, and graphite that are very important for development cooperation.”
Indonesia’s relations with Africa date back to the 1955 Bandung Conference under the leadership of Sukarno. Now, its government under Jokowi is seeking to expand further after leading the G20 in 2022.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will host the forum on China-Africa Cooperation. Trade between China and Africa reached a record $282.1 billion last year.
Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said, “India’s engagement with Africa has intensified, especially along the East African coastline.”
TICAD has become a Japan-TICAD platform since 1993, while Japanese investment drastically rises.
A better Indonesia-Africa relationship would then be important for Indonesia’s UN Security Council bid.
Not all experts think Indonesia should be so optimistic about such a projection because, according to Muhammad Habib Abiyan Dzakwan, Indonesia needs more effort and investment in the field of diplomacy.
