TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian President Joko Widodo or Jokowi welcomed the visit of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the Jakarta Presidential Palace today, April 18. They discussed two issues during an hour-long meeting.

Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia revealed that the first issue was related to the new and renewable energy, with specific emphasis on carbon storage and the logistics flows involved in developing Indonesia's new capital, IKN in North Penajam Paser, East Kalimantan.

“The United Arab Emirates is planning to build solar panels in IKN. We are still working out the details,” Bahlil said in a statement after the meeting. He claimed that the Tony Blair Institute would facilitate the investment.

However, the Head of the Investment Coordinating Board said that the investment value remains unknown as the proposal has just been submitted. The solar panel's capacity is estimated to be around 1.2 gigawatts.

In the meeting with Blair who is a member of the IKN project's Advisory Board, President Jokowi was accompanied by Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Minister Abdullah Azwar Anas and State Secretary Minister Pratikno.

Their second topic of discussion was the collaboration between the Indonesian government and the Tony Blair Institute to accelerate digital transformation.

Azwar Anas said that Blair assured them that digitalization is the most effective way to double the country's achievements and create an efficient bureaucracy. The Tony Blair Institute also encouraged the government to immediately launch INA digital, Indonesia's gov tech, to integrate various government service systems seamlessly.

DANIEL A. FAJRI

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