Through ADB, RI Encourages Energy Transition Issues For Welfare Development In The Region

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani (second from the left) in the ADB forum in South Korea (Photo: Capture the screen of the ADB digital channel)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian government through the Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani conveyed various achievements of the Indonesian economy and also progress in discussing ASEAN's priority agenda in the financial line under the Chairmanship of Indonesia.

It was stated that RI emphasized that the ASEAN Chairship agenda was prioritized to contribute to recovery and welfare in the region through a number of important areas such as strengthening the regional health architecture, transitional finance to support energy transition, and handling food insecurity.

This was conveyed by the Minister of Finance who acted as the Governor of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) together with the ranks attending the 56th ADB Annual Session in Incheon, South Korea.

"Indonesia encourages ADB to continue to increase support for various recovery efforts and increase the resilience of countries in the region, as well as for island countries in the Pacific," he said in an official statement, Monday, May 8.

According to the Minister of Finance, Indonesia encourages ADB to continue its reform agenda to increase its capacity to provide better and more effective services for its member countries.

"The importance of Multinational Development Banks (MDBs) such as ADB to further increase its capacity in providing support to member countries in need in the midst of increasingly challenging and uncertain economic conditions at this time," he said.

The Minister of Finance added that ADB needs to take part in efforts to increase the effectiveness of multilateral cooperation in the midst of geopolitical and economic fragmentation conditions to strengthen recovery in Asia.

"The economic shock experienced by a country will have an effect on other countries, so it needs to be a concern by policymakers to jointly overcome global challenges while avoiding global divisions," he stressed.

For information, Indonesia on this occasion conveyed various reform agendas that have been carried out and also regarding its commitment to continue to accelerate the climate change agenda, one of which is through the Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM) program.

Meanwhile, the implementation of this commitment was demonstrated by the establishment of the Country Platform of ETM Indonesia which was launched during the G20 Indonesia Presidency last November 2022.

The Country Platform operation carried out by PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (PT SMI) is expected to be able to mobilize financing and investment for various PLTU termination projects to be replaced by renewable energy development.

For this reason, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani invites investors from South Korea to participate in ETM projects in Indonesia and also in various other green economy-related projects.

To note, the cooperation between ADB and Indonesia is currently worth around USD 4.1 billion with a focus on programs to increase human resources in the form of education and skills training activities, job development for young people, as well as reducing children's malnutrition (stunting).

ADB also helps develop human resources in rural areas with a focus on empowering farmers and small farmers.