TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo conducted a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta on Tuesday, September 5, 2023. During the meeting, Jokowi urged Canada to invest its pension fund in Indonesia's State Capital project IKN.

According to a written statement by the palace, Jokowi also prodded Canada to invest in other strategic infrastructure projects such as the green airport in North Kalimantan.

Previously, Jokowi discussed the pension fund investment with Trudeau in between the G7 Summit meetings in Japan last May.

Said pension fund referred to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), the biggest pension fund management in Canada. According to its official report, CPP Investment's net assets reached C$434.4 billion during the first quarter of 2021.

Asian countries have been the second biggest investment destination for the pension fund, following the US in the lead with a 34% portion. CPPIB's priority investments in Asia are India, China, and South Korea.

During the meeting, Jokowi welcomed the formation of a task force to follow up on the agreements reached with Trudeau.

In addition to investment, both leaders discussed the cooperation on halal certification. Meanwhile, concerning mineral resources, Jokowi also hopes Canada is willing to support Indonesia's downstream industry policy.

Trudeau alluded to Indonesia's chairmanship in the region and discussed the soon-to-be-launched strategic partnership between Canada and ASEAN, hoping to follow up with a concrete plan for cooperation.

Both Jokowi and Trudeau hoped that the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement ASEAN-Canada could be finalized by the end of 2024.

DANIEL A. FAJRI

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