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President Joko Widodo met with the president of the Asian Development Bank, Masatsugu Asakawa, at the Bogor Presidential Palace on Friday (February 18, 2022). (ANTARA/Lukas/Press Bureau of Presidential Secretariat/uyu) - 

Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) met with officials from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to discuss the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the bank’s support for the energy transition in Indonesia.

"First, the President apprised the officials about the latest developments regarding COVID-19 handling in Indonesia,” National Development Planning (PPN) Minister Suharso Monoarfa said in a statement released after the meeting, which was held at the Bogor Presidential Palace on Friday.

The President also highlighted the fact that currently, Indonesia is the fourth country in the world with the highest vaccination coverage of over 330 million doses, even though it is not a vaccine manufacturer, the minister informed.

In addition, President Jokowi told the ADB officials about Indonesia's economic performance in the fourth quarter of 2021, when the country recorded economic growth of over five percent.

The ADB officials also commended Indonesia's economic growth in 2021.

"Although the total of 2021 national economic growth was only 3.7 percent, the achievement was quite good. The ADB officials praised it by saying that Indonesia’s economic growth was 'amazing',” the minister stated.

Furthermore, the President also talked about the downstreaming attempts of the industry sector to provide added value to export commodities as well as improve the country’s trade balance, he added.

“The President conveyed that Indonesia could get an income that is 20 times higher by halting raw materials exports and starting to sell finished goods,” Monoarfa informed.

Meanwhile, the ADB officials expressed their support for energy transition financing.

"In addition, they will continue to support the funding for the current 14 ongoing projects. The ADB and Indonesia have collaborated for quite a long time—55 years," the minister noted.

ADB officials who attended the meeting included the president of the bank, Masatsugu Asakawa, ADB executive director representing Indonesia, Arif Baharudin, and ADB country director for Indonesia, Jiro Tominaga//ANT