Sri Mulyani: Indonesia Ready To Support Vulnerable Countries In Asia Pacific

Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani Indrawati. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani Indrawati stated that Indonesia is ready to support the most vulnerable countries in Asia and the Pacific in order to achieve a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and Pacific region.

"Indonesia is ready to support the most vulnerable countries in Asia and the Pacific through cooperation with other development partners including the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and also bilaterally through the Indonesian Agency for International Development," said Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani in an ADB statement in Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Wednesday, May 8.

This was conveyed by Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani at the ADB 57th Annual Meeting which was held on May 2-5, 2024 in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Sri Mulyani stressed that joint efforts in economic recovery, strengthening regional health infrastructure, and facilitating transition funding could accelerate the rise of Asia, encourage recovery, improve connectivity, and encourage reform initiatives.

"Together, we aspire to build a more inclusive and sustainable future for the Asia and Pacific region," he said.

The Minister of Finance said that the most vulnerable countries in Asia and the Pacific include small island developing countries and countries that are vulnerable and affected by conflict face the most difficult challenges, including climate change and disaster risks, infrastructure and economic development, health, and education.

Structural factors such as the prospect of low-term economic growth, high vulnerability to natural disasters, and high public service and infrastructure costs, as well as war or conflict make these countries very vulnerable.

"In this context, I firmly believe that ADB needs to play a stronger role in dealing with these important agendas in order to support sustainable development for countries most in need, including through the ADF," he said.

Indonesia as one of the donor countries strongly supports the addition of the Asia Development Fund (ADF) 14 and always urges ADB to increase its focus on developing small archipelago countries and vulnerable countries and affected by conflict.

"We affirm our steadfast dedication to sustainable collaboration with ADB and its members to create positive changes in people's lives," he said.

He said Indonesia was committed to continuing to reform and implementing a new approach to maintaining sustainable and inclusive economic development.

"We firmly believe that sharing experiences, knowledge, and support among members, apart from the ADB support program, is very relevant," he said.

For this reason, Indonesia is ready to work together and share experiences with other ADB members through the South-South and Triangular Cooperation programs. The South-South Cooperation Approach offers a non-traditional way of obtaining more horizontal learning and is based on the concept of solidarity.

Previously, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and donors approved the addition of USD 5 billion for the Asia Development Fund (ADF) 14 and Technical Assistance Special Fund (TASF) 8 belonging to ADB. Indonesia is one of the donor countries that contributed to the additional funds.

The addition of ADF 14 funds to support the most vulnerable people in Asia and the Pacific was agreed upon at the 57th Annual Meeting of the ADB in Tbilisi, Georgia.

"The addition of ADF 14 funds is around 22 percent higher than the USD 4.1 billion available at ADF 13, and will provide the largest ADF grant volume ever to eligible ADB members," said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa at a press conference at The Biltmore Hotel, Tbilisi, Friday (3/5).

ADF 14 prioritizes special assistance to small island developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to climate change, and to countries that are in vulnerable and impacted by conflict.

ADF is ADB's largest source of grants for operations in its member countries which are the poorest and most vulnerable developing countries, and are added back every four years.