VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has asked his ministers to oversee the realization of investment commitments from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United Kingdom (UK).

"I urge the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Investment Minister, State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister, and all related stakeholders to push the commitments to be realized," he said at a plenary cabinet meeting at his office in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The President had visited the UAE on November 3–4, 2021 to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in trade and investment.

"In my meeting with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed (the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and the Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces  and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum (the ruler of Dubai and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates), they said that they committed to invest $44.6 billion. It must be followed up until it is realized," he emphasized.

Investment commitments that are not closely monitored usually take a longer time to be realized, Widodo noted.

Furthermore, he said that the state budget only contributes about 15 percent to Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP).

"It means that state-owned enterprises (SOEs), private companies, and foreign investments have a bigger contribution to our GDP," he added.

In addition, he said an investment commitment of US$9.29 billion was obtained during his visit to the UK on November 1–2, 2021.

"It is said in our meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and several CEOs of various British companies that the investment commitment is intended for the energy and green economy sector,” he informed.

While meeting Widodo, the British Prime Minister had expressed UK's interest in investing in Indonesia to support the nation's economic transition.

The UK government will prepare export credits that can be used to support the economic transition cooperation with Indonesia, Johnson said.

Meanwhile, Widodo's visit to the UAE had resulted in 19 cooperation agreements, including between the Indonesia Investment Authority (INA) and the Abu Dhabi Growth Fund (ADG), as well as INA and Dubai Ports (DP) World.

In addition, a cooperation agreement for floating solar panels development was inked between the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company and Indonesian oil and gas SOE Pertamina.

UAE cloud computing company Group 42 (G42) had also entered into agreements with partners in Indonesia for the development of smart cities, telecommunications, and genomic laboratories. (Antaranews)