TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Government will prioritize food security, health, and energy sectors in pursuing development cooperation with African countries through the 2nd Indonesia-Africa Forum (IAF), which will be held in Bali from September 1–3, 2024.

"Priority assistance to Africa is in the sectors of food security, health, and energy," Indonesia's Director General of Public Information and Diplomacy at the Foreign Affairs Ministry Siti Nugraha Mauludiah said at an online media briefing on Thursday, August 15, 2024.

To strengthen this cooperation, Indonesia is continuing to consistently provide support, including through the provision of grants.

So far, the Indonesian Government's grants have reached 23 out of 54 countries in Africa, or around 42 percent of African countries.

The development grants to African countries have been provided through capacity-building programs, infrastructure renovations, as well as emergency response or humanitarian assistance.

Mauludiah informed that in 2024, seven grants were included in the List of Grant Provision Plans, covering the sectors of food security, transportation, and energy.

Indonesia is providing assistance to Africa both bilaterally and triangularly with other international development partners.

For 2025, she said, there are 12 proposed grants for the African region in the fields of transportation, disasters, as well as food and energy security.

As a follow-up to the visit of the Indonesian President to a number of countries in Africa, the government is currently preparing a grand design for development cooperation between Indonesia and Africa.

"The grand design will include the potential for development cooperation between Indonesia and Africa in the next five years, especially in three main sectors, namely food security, health, and energy, as well as other sectors that are priorities in the Africa Agenda 2063," Mauludiah added.

ANTARA

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