Nusa Dua, Bali – The series of events for the Second Indonesia Africa Forum (IAF) and the High-Level Forum on Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships (HLF MSP) has begun. In the event held in Bali, several heads of state, international representatives, and private sector parties were involved in formulating various important agreements.
The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pahala Nugraha Mansury, stated that the forum organizes various activities, including meetings of heads of state, panel discussions, exhibitions, and business matching.
“This forum is expected to produce concrete cooperation,” said Pahala.
Pahala also conveyed the priority issues discussed at this forum, including food security, energy security, health security, and mineral security.
Regarding the issue of food security, Indonesia and Africa have high food needs. In terms of energy security, Africa can be a source of energy (oil and gas) that can foster cooperation in renewable energy with Indonesia.
In terms of health resilience, Indonesia and African countries have a high demand for medicines, vaccines, and medical devices, which has the potential to open up trade as well as joint development and production in the health sector.
Meanwhile, for mineral resilience, Indonesia and African countries have the potential to develop a supply chain for the production of components and batteries for electric vehicles (EVs).
“In addition to discussing those four priority issues, this forum also organizes panel discussions, exhibitions, and business matching, and focuses on economic transformation, energy, mining, food security, health, and development cooperation,” he said.
He added that Africa is important for Indonesia because the region is a strategic partner for market diversification, investment, and the expansion of global influence. Furthermore, Africa has a historical closeness to Indonesia as a Global South country. This closeness began with the Asia-Africa Conference in 1955, which gave rise to the “Bandung Spirit.”
“The strategic partnership between Indonesia and Africa is evident in their shared vision. Indonesia’s Golden Vision 2045 and Africa’s Agenda 2063 demonstrate significant potential for cooperation across various sectors,” he added.
According to Pahala, Indonesia is a country with extraordinary natural wealth, including nickel, copper, bauxite, and more. Similarly, the countries in Africa also possess a vast amount of natural resources.
“We hope that the results of this forum will lead to bilateral cooperation in various sectors between Indonesia and African countries. Such as business deals, agreements between the private sector, as well as a grand design, namely the Development Cooperation with Africa 2024-2029,” concluded Pahala.
The series of HLF-MSP events will include various activities, including a High-Level Plenary Session, Parallel Sessions, a Gala Dinner, and a Cultural Showcase.
This event serves as a platform for the government, the business world, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, philanthropists, and academics to exchange views and seek solutions to the global challenges faced together.
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