VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian President Joko Widodo left for Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Sunday morning (12/01). Some of the agendas to be carried out by President Joko Widodo include bilateral meetings with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and attending the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week meeting. In the forum, President Joko Widodo will be the keynote speaker to discuss  sustainable development, and energy.

However, the most important goal of the President Jokowi's visit to Abu Dhabi is a meeting with the Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed. Besides talking about matters relating to Islam and Wakaf or endowments,  both parties will also expand cooperation in the investment sector.

The visit to the United Arab Emirates is President Joko Widodo's first overseas working visit in 2020 carried out as a follow-up to the UAE Crown Prince's visit to Indonesia in June last year. The president intends to 'fetch' an investment of 4 billion US dollars to  be disbursed by the United Arab Emirates. During a visit to Abu Dhabi, President Joko Widodo is scheduled to sign four Memorandums of Understanding in the investment sector.

The first cooperation is Balikpapan Refinery project between the Emirates’ oil and gas company, Mubadalah and PT Pertamina from Indonesia. The second one is Balongan Refinery project, which will be undertaken by Pertamina along with another company from the Emirates, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc). The third cooperation is the employment contract between Enterprise Global Aluminum (EGA) and PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminum (Inalum), and the fourth one is a working  project between PT PLN Indonesia and Masdar in a floating solar power plant project in Cirata Reservoir, West Java.

Data from the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) on 31 October 2019 shows Singapore is still listed as the highest country to invest in Indonesia with an investment value of US$ 1.9 billion dollars, followed by the Netherlands at US$ 1.4 billion, and China with a value of US$1 billion dollars.

In 2020, the BKPM targets an investment achievement worth Rp886 trillion. The influx of large amount of investment is expected to help the economy continue grow amid a global economic slowdown.

United Arab Emirates' investment in Indonesia worth US$ 4 billion dollars or Rp56 trillion shows the country's high level of confidence in the investment climate in Indonesia. This also shows that Indonesia is still an attractive country to invest and proves that the level of global investors’ confidence in Indonesia is still quite good.

The signing of the four Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) in the field of investment between Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates is also expected to further enhance world confidence in the investment sector in Indonesia.