Nusa Dua – The 2nd Indonesia Africa Forum (IAF) and the High-Level Forum on Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships (HLF MSP) which were just completed in Nusa Dua Bali resulted in new breakthroughs in economic cooperation between Indonesia and African countries. The event presented 12 thematic sessions organized by the Ministry of PPN/Bappenas, with a focus on strengthening multi-party cooperation and innovative economic diplomacy.
Deputy for Politics, Law, Defense, and Security, Bogat Widyatmoko, emphasized the importance of strengthening economic diplomacy as one of Indonesia’s diplomatic tools in the future. “South-South Cooperation and this trade and investment platform will be a new means of diplomacy that will prioritize economic diplomacy. This will be the beginning of comprehensive diplomacy,” said Bogat.
Meanwhile, Deputy for Economic Affairs at Bappenas, Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, stated that this forum provides a new color to South-South Cooperation (SSC). “So far, SSC cooperation has relied more on aid. However, through this forum, we encourage changes towards trade and investment that provide mutual benefits for Indonesia and African countries,” explained Amalia.
Deputy for Maritime Affairs and Natural Resources, Dr. Vivi Yulaswati, highlighted the results of the discussion in the forum which emphasized the importance of eliminating double taxation and restructuring global blended finance as an effort to strengthen economic cooperation. “We have formulated two main challenges, namely reducing double taxation and restructuring global blended finance to accelerate the growth of economic cooperation,” said Vivi.
The forum also highlighted the importance of women’s roles in international cooperation, with 30% of speakers being women, reflecting greater inclusivity and representation in global discussions. As a follow-up, Indonesia and African countries have agreed to further promote economic cooperation between buildings, especially for the small and medium enterprise sector.
The results of this meeting are expected to strengthen economic relations between Indonesia and African countries, making this cooperation more oriented towards mutual benefits and sustainable economic growth.
