Egyptian Sayonara, Sri Mulyani Claims Success Brings Indonesia's Energy Transition Agenda

Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani (Photo: dock. IG SMI Indrawati)

JAKARTA The annual Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) meeting which was held in the city of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, was completed on Tuesday. Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani also shared the busy agenda that she attended on the second day or last day of the meeting.

The Minister of Finance started the second day by witnessing the signing of the MoU and Letter of Intent (LOI) between AIIB and PT PLN and PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (SMI). He said this collaboration was carried out to make the energy transition a success in Indonesia.

"Today, with this signing, it is hoped that there will be a joint platform for cooperation between PT PLN, PT SMI, and also with AIIB to make transmission and energy transition successful in Indonesia," Sri Mulyani said as reported by the official website on Wednesday, September 27.

According to the Minister of Finance, with the signing of the LoI, AIIB is committed to providing financing, technical assistance, and support for capacity development that is urgently needed to accelerate Indonesia's energy transition.

Including, financing for the transmission system in Sumatra, with an estimated cost of US$657 million for 2024-2026 and an additional US$213 million by 2023.

It is stated that the synergy established is an effort by the government to increase the portion of renewable energy sources while building reliability and energy security in Indonesia.

Furthermore, the Minister of Finance revealed that currently the issue of climate change is an important discussion during the two days of the AIIB annual meeting. In fact, this issue is also a challenge for the world community.

"We all know that the climate change problem is a very important problem and during the 2 days of the AIIB Annual Meeting meeting we discussed the climate change which is a challenge for the world community," he said.

Therefore, continued the Minister of Finance, he said that AIIB wants to increase its portfolio by more than 50 percent for infrastructure development related to climate change issues, including the energy sector.

On the same day, Sri Mulyani also attended the closing of AIIB Annual Meeting by the Minister of Finance of Egypt. The state treasurer also shared the beauty of the city of Sharm El-Sheikh which has similarities to the island of Bali in terms of location.

"Sharm El-Sheikh is a resort venue built by the Egyptian government in order to improve its tourism. If we look at the location side, it looks like Bali. However, the sand and beaches are completely different," he said.

Not to forget, the Minister of Finance said that next year's AIIB Annual Meeting will be held in Central Asia. Precisely in the city of Samarkand which is full of history in the country of Uzbekistan.

"The chosen city is Samarkand. A city with so many historys including a source from philosophers, including Ibna who once lived in Samarkand," he added.

After a working visit in Egypt, the Minister of Finance and his delegation are scheduled to attend Berlin Global Dialogue on 28-29 September.