Mempat Menko Airlangga, Ambassador Australia Pastikan Kehadiran Perdana Menteri Anthony Albanese Di KTT G20

Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Penny Williams expressed full support to the Government of Indonesia regarding the plan to organize the G20 Summit in Bali in the middle of this month. Penny conveyed the support when visiting the office of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto in Jakarta.

"Australia supports the Indonesian Presidency in organizing the 17th G20 Summit in Bali on November 15-16, 2022," Ambassador Penny said in a press statement quoted Wednesday, November 9.

According to him, bilateral relations between Indonesia and Australia have strengthened amid the momentum of Indonesia's G20 Presidency this year. It is stated that cooperation between the two countries in various sectors supports the economy of each country which will continue to be encouraged in future cooperation meetings.

Australian Prime Minister (PM) Anthony Albanese together with Finance Minister Jim Chalmers will attend the G20 Bali Summit next week," he said.

Furthermore, Penny revealed that the Australian Government gave 10 scholarships to Indonesian students to pursue master and doctoral education in Australia regarding the G20 agenda.

It was explained that the scholarship was given specifically for a study program that was in accordance with the priority areas of the G20 Indonesia, namely the global health architecture, the transition of sustainable energy, and digital transformation.

"Currently all scholarship recipients are in the preparation stage in Bali and will begin their studies in Australia next year," he added.

Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister Airlangga said that Indonesia and Australia would participate in Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) activities on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali. The plan is for Indonesia to hold PGII activities together with the United States and the European Commission.

"Indonesia expects Australian support in this activity to realize a mutually beneficial strategic infrastructure project between developing countries and developed countries," he said.

Airlangga also mentioned the plan to hold the second meeting of the Economic, Trade, and Investment Ministerial Meeting (ETIMM).

As mandated at the meeting of President Joko Widodo and PM Australia at the Annual Leaders' Meeting in Canberra on February 10, 2020, ETIMM was an annual meeting of the ministers of the economy, trade and investment between the two countries to discuss increasing bilateral and global economic cooperation.

To note, RI and Australia are also active in regional economic cooperation. The two countries are active participants in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). The first IPEF Negotiation Round is planned to take place in Australia in mid-December 2022. Closing the meeting, Coordinating Minister Airlangga and Ambassador Penny also discussed cooperation in economic development between the two countries. Ambassador Penny expressed his appreciation to the Coordinating Ministry for the Indonesian Partnership Grant Program, Australia Prospera, which has been running well and will be extended to facilitate strengthening economic governance, as well as encouraging strong, sustainable, and inclusive economic growth.