VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss launched a revamped British development finance institution in London yesterday (25 November) that will invest billions in infrastructure and technology in low and middle income countries across Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.

The body, British International Investment (BII), will be a key part of the government’s wider plans to mobilise up to £8 billion a year of public and private sector investment in international projects by 2025. This will include BII partnering with capital markets and sovereign wealth funds to scale up financing and help the private sector move in.

Foreign Secretary Truss discussed green infrastructure investment with both President Joko Widodo and Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi during her recent visit to Indonesia, following talks between President Joko Widodo and Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the same subject.

The Foreign Secretary has agreed that BII will prioritise sustainable infrastructure investment to provide clean, honest and reliable financing and avoid low and middle income countries being left with bad and unsustainable debt. It builds on the Prime Minister’s commitments at COP26 to help developing countries take advantage of clean technology and grow their economies sustainably, with the BII delivering billions in climate financing for projects like solar power, sustainable transport and disaster-resilient infrastructure over the next 5 years.

"Too many countries are loading their balance sheets with unsustainable debt. Reliable and honest sources of finance are needed. Britain and our allies will provide that, with British International Investment a key delivery vehicle. This is a win-win for all. It benefits Britain by creating jobs and opportunities for our people. And it helps grow economies across Asia, Africa and the Caribbean while drawing them closer towards free-market democracies and building a network of liberty across the world,” Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Secretary, Liz Truss, said in a release on Wednesday.

It is part of the UK’s network of liberty strategy that aims to deepen economic, security and development ties globally and bring more countries into the orbit of free-market economies while delivering jobs and growth in both the UK and developing world.

“This announcement is great news, coming so soon after our Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary met with President Joko Widodo and Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, and discussed how to work together to drive more investment into Indonesia, to enable it to build back better from the pandemic," British Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor Leste Owen Jenkins said. (VOI)

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Secretary, Liz Truss, said