Indonesia Woos Africa Using ‘Big Boys’ Script

Friday September 06 2024

A general view of the skyline of Jakarta, Indonesia on February 28, 2024. Shutterstock

By LUKE ANAMI

By APOLINARI TAIRO

Indonesia this week hosted a gathering of African leaders in Bali, trying its luck and following the script of the big boys such as China.

But the timing was poor, either by design or default, and saw fewer African heads of state and government attend, as more than 50 of them attended a similar but bigger forum in China.

The 2nd Indonesia-Africa Forum (IAF) 2024 meeting ended on Tuesday, September 3. Rwandan President Paul Kagame was the most notable attendee from the East African Community. Tanzania was represented by Zanzibar president Dr Hussein Mwinyi, while Kenya sent Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi. 

Kagame would later also attend the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (Focac) in Beijing. Other key leaders Bali included Liberian President Joseph Boakai, Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, eSwatini Prime Minister Cleopas Dlamini, and Zimbabwe Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga.

Indonesia, not normally among the ‘big boys’ club of China, US, India, UK, France, Turkey, South Korea or Russia, has been trying to get a slice of business from Africa using the old tools of aid, security cooperation, business, and Africa summits. 

In 2019, it established the Indonesia Agency for International Development (LDKPI), also known as Indonesia Aid. It says its development cooperation has expanded to 23 of 54 countries in Africa or 42 percent of the countries in the region since then.

In June, Rwanda and Indonesia signed an MoU on political consultation, coming in the wake of intensified security cooperation. The two countries had been discussing cooperation between Indonesia and Rwanda National Police on combating transnational organised crime and enhancing capacity building, according to a dispatch from both sides.

The latest forum targeted the ‘Bandung Spirit for Africa’s Agenda 2063,’ combining the famous South-South discussions with Africa’s ambition to prosper.

“The forum focused on issues related to energy, health, food resilience and mining, with over 1,500 delegates drawn from African and Global South countries,” Mr Wandayi said.

“I engaged in productive bilateral discussions within the framework of accelerating development of the Suswa Geothermal Project with representatives drawn from Kemenlu I, PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy and other partners in Indonesia,” he said.

In Bali, a cooperation agreement was signed between Kenya BioVax Institute, a state-owned vaccine manufacturing company, and PT Bio Farma, the Indonesian state-owned vaccines manufacturer. 

Mr Wandayi said that the deal will provide the framework for technology transfer for human vaccines as well as workforce development in bio manufacturing as well as technical cooperation between the two countries.

Overall, Indonesia said it successfully recorded 32 business partnerships with a value of more than $3.5 billion in business deals from the summit, where at least 29 states sent representatives. 

Timelines on implementation were not immediately given, but Indonesians were marketing theirs as a country of honest dealings.

"Indonesia is increasingly recognised internationally as a reliable development partner for developing countries, a reliable southern provider," said Siti Nugraha Mauludiah, Director-General of Information and Public Diplomacy at Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In food security, Indonesia has provided support for the procurement of food supplies to address the impact of drought disasters in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Madagascar, according to a brochure shared on Tuesday.

Additionally, a programme for revitalising agricultural training centres has been carried out in The Gambia and Tanzania.

Indonesia concluded an investment agreement in the energy sector with a total investment value of $1.5 billion at the forum.

“This is certainly a promising achievement from the target of the AIF 2024 deliverables agreement worth $3.5 billion," said Dewi Justicia Meidiwaty, Director for African Affairs, Directorate General of Asian, Pacific and African Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Indonesia’s PT Essa Industries signed MoUs with Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC), Tanzania Fertiliser Regulatory Authority (TFRA) and Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC).

Indonesian entities plan to establish a fertiliser plant in Tanzania worth $1.2 billion, according to a dispatch.

Tanzanian Deputy Minister for Planning and Investment Stanslaus Nyongo said in July the two countries had agreed to cooperate in key investments mostly in minerals and renewable energy through exploration and capacity building.

Tanzania’s Electric Supply Company and Persero of Indonesia inked a deal on cooperation geothermal power production.

Indonesia is currently funding long and short training for Tanzanians through exchange programmes in medical science, engineering, fisheries, tourism, fish farming, agriculture and information communication technology, “in line with the efforts of the two countries to support food security in the future," according to Meidiwaty.