Holding the AIS Forum Summit in Bali, Further Strengthening Indonesia’s Leadership on the International Stage
Indonesia’s role on the world stage appears to be increasing in recent years. Increasing foreign political capacity is inseparable from Indonesia’s foreign political mission. The face of Indonesia’s foreign policy will increasingly see its escalation on the international stage in 2022 and 2023.
The active role of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has increased Indonesia’s position and role as a key actor in inter-state relations, both at regional and global levels. In November 2022, President Jokowi attended the Asean High Level Conference (Summit) in Cambodia, and at this summit Indonesia was also appointed as Chair of Asean 2023.
Apart from that, Indonesia has also hosted the G20 Summit which took place in Bali, on 15-16 November 2022, as well as the ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo and Jakarta. It cannot be denied that these two high-level meetings are very important and strategic for Indonesia.
And currently Indonesia is lined up to host the Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) Forum 2023 High Level Meeting, which will be held in Nusa Dua Bali 10-11 October 2023. This summit event further strengthens Indonesia’s role on the global stage.
The AIS Forum is not a forum with abstract goals, but has concrete goals like ASEAN. Therefore, when the AIS Forum was initiated by Indonesia, the aim was to embrace island and archipelagic countries in a concrete cooperation framework.
This forum is also a form of Indonesia’s leadership in the international arena. As the largest archipelagic country in the world, as well as an economic power since the G20, Indonesia has a strategic position and role to carry out collaboration with archipelagic countries.
Not only does it have a good name, but economically Indonesia gets a lot of benefits from the presence of heads of state, delegations and invited guests. Apart from that, Indonesia wants to contribute more to the world as the largest archipelagic country in the world. Because for island and island countries, the challenges they face are relatively the same.
Since its initiation in 2018, the total member countries of the AIS Forum have reached 51 countries, and various series of meetings at the level of high-level officials and state ministers of the AIS Forum have also been held to build and strengthen collaboration between AIS countries.
The AIS Summit also provides an opportunity for island and archipelagic countries throughout the world to collaborate in overcoming the main challenges and problems in the marine development sector, climate change mitigation and overcoming marine pollution.
Meanwhile, the challenges of island and archipelago countries lie not only in how to create a blue economy , sustainable development (SDGs), and climate change . However, it is bigger than that, such as connectivity issues, empowerment of coastal communities, and even marine solution issues .
Therefore, it is hoped that the AIS Forum can produce a Leader’s Joint Declaration whose aim is to make the AIS Forum an international organization based on a treaty/charter . The AIS Forum Summit is also expected to be a means of concrete deliverables in the form of achievements of the AIS Forum programs.
There are at least three important messages from holding the AIS Forum 2023. First, the sea is the backbone of island and archipelagic countries, so it is very important to protect and utilize the sea which is the lifeblood of life through sustainable development.
Second, island and archipelagic countries need smart and diverse solutions according to current and future needs and conditions. Therefore, it is hoped that the AIS forum can produce solutions that are not only owned by developed countries, but also by developing countries and can be implemented together according to regional conditions by making it an AIS Pedia platform .
Third, in the first semester of 2023 the AIS Forum has held at least seven activities which were enthusiastically welcomed in a number of island and archipelagic countries.
Indonesia’s involvement will be a very important step, especially in efforts to realize a sustainable world ocean. Indonesia will also be the main actor in the world community’s struggle to fight the impacts of climate change.
The glorification of the AIS Forum needs to be carried out by all parties, considering that Indonesia is the initiator of the forum so that many benefits will be obtained. Therefore, there is a need to glorify issues related to the event so that people can unite the narrative to know, recognize and understand the AIS Forum and its relevance to everyday life.
Indonesia continues to be trusted to hold some of the largest international forums in the world and this shows the world’s trust in Indonesia’s leadership, including holding the 2023 AIS Forum Summit in Bali.
A number of activities on an international scale are a momentum for Indonesia’s active role in the international arena, as well as an implementation of the face of Indonesia’s foreign policy, namely playing an important leadership role for Indonesia in the region and the world.
