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THE MINISTRY of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemlu RI) emphasized the importance of the African region as a strategic partner in achieving mutually beneficial economic development for Indonesia and the countries of the continent.
This was conveyed by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Pahala N. Mansury, in a meeting with the media in Jakarta on Thursday (08/22) 2024 ahead of the 2nd Indonesia-Africa Forum (IAF) to be held in Nusa Dua, Bali on September 1-3, 2024.
“It is expected that we will continue to cooperate as Indonesia and Africa have many strategic values between Indonesia and many African countries,” Pahala said.
He emphasized that this cooperation is very important, especially in the midst of current geopolitical conflict tensions. Countries in the southern region, including Indonesia and Africa, are expected to be able to emphasize their non-aligned position to reduce these tensions.
Pahala also explained that the right to develop resources that belong to both parties. The right to develop is one of the things we want to fight for together.
In this context, the potential for cooperation in the area of energy security is very important, given that Africa has 10 percent of the world’s oil reserves. In addition, the abundance of critical minerals such as cobalt, lithium and graphite is also a major focus of the 2nd IAF, which is expected to promote the downstreaming of critical minerals between Indonesia and Africa.
With Africa’s population now reaching 1.4 billion, Pahala explained that this is a great opportunity for Indonesia to diversify its market into non-traditional sectors, including palm oil, food and beverage, and garments.
“This market diversification is expected to provide a more diverse supply of commodities and expand export destinations and investment potential abroad, According to the African Development Bank, economic growth in the African region is estimated to reach 3.2 percent in 2023, with an estimated jump to 3.8% in 2024,” he added.
This is the strategic importance of Africa, he continued that which is why we are starting to develop relations between Indonesia and Africa from now on.
The 2nd IAF will be attended by six heads of state or government from the African continent and aims to strengthen economic diplomacy, trade cooperation and open access to non-traditional markets between Indonesia and African countries.
Meanwhile, the Director for Africa at the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, Dewi Justicia Meidiwaty, added that cooperation with third parties is also an important priority in improving this relationship. “This triangular cooperation is also an aspect that can be put forward in our relationship with Africa,” she said.
The theme of the 2nd IAF, “Bandung Spirit for Africa’s Agenda 2063”, was chosen to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Asia-Africa Conference (KAA), which shows the strong historical ties between Indonesia and African countries.
Meidi emphasized the importance of developing these ties into strategic economic cooperation focusing on priority issues such as health, energy and food.
The Indonesian Foreign Ministry hopes that the 2nd IAF can be a momentum to strengthen bilateral relations and create new opportunities for both parties in achieving sustainable development goals. [sources/photo special]
