Airlangga Says Indonesia Continues To Commit To BeCOMing OECD Members In 3 Years

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto (Photo: dock. Antara)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo held a meeting with the Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Mathias Cormann at the Bogor State Palace, Tuesday, May 28.

On this occasion, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto as the Chief Executive of the National Team for the Preparation and Acceleration of Indonesian Membership in OECD (OECD National Team) also accompanied President Joko Widodo.

"Today's meeting is the second meeting between President Joko Widodo and Secretary General Cormann regarding the Indonesian Accession Process. The first is in August 2023. The purpose of this meeting is to provide the latest information regarding the accession process and the steps that need to be taken by the Government of Indonesia," said Airlangga in his statement, Tuesday, May 28.

Furthermore, Airlangga said that the meeting stated that Indonesia would continue to be committed to becoming an OECD member within the next 3 years.

Furthermore, the Government will form a Project Management Office (PMO) to support the National Team, and will continue to encourage access to OECD to be integrated with RPJPN and RPJMN.

Airlangga conveyed Indonesia's joining to OECD membership is increasingly showing certainty with various stages that take place optimally.

On the occasion, Airlangga also mentioned that there were a number of learning from several new member states of OECD that were able to achieve better economic performance, ranging from Costa Rica which was able to reduce its budget deficit to 5 percent of GDP in 2021, Colombia, which reduced foreign bribes by implementing the OECD Anti-Suap Convention, as well as Lithuania and Chile which were able to complete an accession period within 3 years.

As for the current accession process, Indonesia also received technical and non-technical support from a number of friendly countries of OECD members.

Airlangga conveyed his commitment to support in the form of capacity building, funding, and communication provided by Australia, the Netherlands, and various other countries.

In addition, Japan specifically also provided technical assistance through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

After reaching the adoption stage of the OECD roadmap, the next step that will be taken by the Government is the self-assessment process, and an initial memorandum preparation will be carried out which is planned to be completed within the next 250 days.

Earlier in the discussion of the President and Secretary General Cormann also discussed matters that in this OECD process, OECD will also help related to the development of the semiconductor ecosystem and they will also learn how ASEAN has carried out the digital roadmap process, the Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) and it is also a learning process in OECD, "concluded Airlangga.

In addition, by the end of 2024, Secretary General Cormannn is also scheduled to return to visit Indonesia to launch the Indonesian Economic Survey.

The survey is a form of OECD support for Indonesia to be able to increase the investment climate and become a country that is equivalent to current OECD member countries in regulatory development, so investors are expected to continue to invest in Indonesia.