Olaf Scholz to visit Indonesia: FM Marsudi

Jakarta, The Gulf Observer: Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi stated after meeting with a German delegation on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit Indonesia.

The date of the visit, however, has not yet been finalized, as both countries are still preparing for it, the minister revealed.

Marsudi remarked that preparations for the meeting of the two leaders had already begun, including plans to hold a full-format meeting between the Indonesian and German foreign ministers, which will take place in Germany in November 2023.

“We are still discussing the exact date of the visit,” she noted in an official transcript from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jakarta on Wednesday.

President Joko Widodo, well-known as Jokowi, had met with Chancellor Scholz when he attended the Hannover Messe 2023 exhibition in Germany last April.

During his visit, Jokowi held a bilateral meeting with Scholz to discuss investment and economic cooperation, including discussions to accelerate the completion of negotiations for the Indonesia-European Union trade pact (IEU-CEPA).

Jokowi and Scholz also discussed the implementation of funding for the Fair Energy Transition Cooperation (JETP), which is still under negotiation since its launch at the end of last year.

JETP is a climate change and energy transition funding partnership from the G7 countries the US, Japan, Germany, the UK, France, Italy, and Canada — plus Norway and Denmark to mobilize an initial $10 billion to support Indonesia’s decarbonization in the energy sector.

Jokowi’s visit to Germany also resulted in a Joint Declaration of Intent in The Feed of Digitalization between the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology and the German Ministry of Digital and Transformation to support the development of digital transformation in Indonesia.

Indonesia also secured 18 agreements worth around Rp27.9 trillion in several sectors, such as energy transition, investment, and start-up innovation.

Scholz last visited Indonesia in November 2022 when he attended the G20 Summit in Bali.