President Jokowi, Coordinating Minister Airlangga, And A Number Of Ministers Meet With Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed, Encourage Investment Cooperation

JAKARTA - After the COP26 Summit in Glasgow-Scotland, Indonesian President Joko Widodo along with the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto and several other Indonesian Advanced Cabinet Ministers, continued their working visit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (PEA), on 3-4 November 2021.

The first activity was a bilateral meeting with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi / Deputy Supreme Commander of the PEA Armed Forces, H.E. Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Al-Shatie Palace. During the meeting, it was agreed that the two countries would continue to increase trade and investment cooperation, especially after the launch of the Indonesia-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IUAE-CEPA) negotiations in September 2021, and it is hoped that it will be completed in approximately one year.

With the CEPA agreement, it is hoped that the two countries can increase the number of trade to more than 3 times from the current level, and raise the investment rating of PEA in Indonesia from the previous rank of 25.

"Especially with the enactment of the Job Creation Law which facilitates the process of foreign trade and investment services as part of Indonesia's economic transformation towards national economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic", said Coordinating Minister Airlangga.

In particular, Indonesia hopes that PEA can increase its investment in health and a green and sustainable economy. In addition, the two countries agreed to take steps to increase economic, trade, and investment cooperation, including in the defense industry, through a bilateral mechanism that has been established. Including the realization of several cooperation agreements that were produced and agreed upon in the last 3 years.

"Some of the investments encouraged during this visit include investment cooperation through the INA Sovereign Wealth Fund, cooperation in renewable energy, retail and port, and toll road infrastructure, health cooperation, and digital technology", explained Coordinating Minister Airlangga.

During the visit to Abu Dhabi, President Jokowi and his entourage also had the opportunity to visit Jubail Mangrove Park, review the planned location of the new building for the Indonesian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, across the road called President Joko Widodo Street, and also the location for the construction of the President Joko Widodo Mosque.

Next, the President and his entourage will go to Dubai to hold a meeting with the Vice President and Prime Minister of the PEA/Ruler of Dubai, H.E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rasid al Maktoum, then attend the Indonesia-UAE Investment Forum/Business Forum, witness several bilateral cooperation agreements. the two countries visited the Indonesian Pavilion and attended the National Day of the Indonesian Pavilion at the Dubai Expo 2020.

Regarding the IUAE-CEPA, the negotiation process has been carried out in two-hybrid rounds, of which in the second round (28-30 October 2021) several articles related to the substance have been successfully agreed upon. By the agreement between the two leaders, it was agreed that the CEPA Agreement between the two countries would be completed within a year or less.

The trade value between the two countries in 2020 reached 2.9 billion US dollars, while the value in January to August 2021 has reached around 2.4 billion US dollars. The value of PEA's investment in Indonesia for the 2017-2021 period is 189.8 million US dollars with as many as 484 projects.

President Jokowi's visit to PEA this time is his second visit, after the first visit on January 8-9, 2020. Previously, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi / Deputy Supreme Commander of the PEA Armed Forces, H.E. Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited Indonesia on July 24, 2019.

In addition to the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, other Ministers of the Advanced Indonesia Cabinet who accompanied President Jokowi on this visit to the PEA were the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs, the Foreign Minister, and the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises. In addition, the Cabinet Secretariat, the ranks of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and several leaders of BUMN/National Private Companies.