TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Ambassador of the Republic of Rwanda to Indonesia Sheikh Abdul Karim Harerimana highlighted the importance of the 2nd Indonesia-Africa Forum, or IAF, for Indonesia and Rwanda, as well as for other participating African countries.

"The discussions and exchanges which will take place in this meeting will be beneficial not only to Rwanda and Indonesia, but also to participating countries, including Africa, other African countries, or Africa as a continent," he said as reported by Antara on Thursday, August 22.

The ambassador noted that Indonesia and Rwanda are part of the Global South and that the cooperation between the Global South is already very deep. He emphasized the significance of the 2nd Indonesia-Africa Forum, stating that it would offer numerous advantages to all participating nations.

The relationship between Indonesia and Rwanda has deep roots, dating back several years prior to the opening of the Rwandan embassy in Jakarta.

Therefore, Harerimana said he hopes that the IAF, which will be held in early September 2024, will be able to bridge the loopholes that exist in bilateral relations between the two countries.

"So, this is our hope, and this is the benefit that we are expecting to get from this forum," he added.

Harerimana also expressed the hope that the forum would help overcome the challenges faced by Indonesia and African countries.

The challenges include the imbalance in trade and commodity exchange between developing and developed countries.

The Global North seeks to obtain raw materials from the Global South at extremely low prices. After processing these materials into finished goods within their own countries, they resell these products back to the Global South at exorbitant rates, the Ambassador explained.

Another challenge is the increasing environmental degradation, especially in Western countries, where industry is causing damage to the environment, which has a major impact on the entire world.

"And when we talk about it, when we look at the solutions for them, they look at their economies and the economic side of them, which they don't want to lose," he said.

Through the 2nd Indonesia-Africa Forum, it is hoped that Indonesia and African countries can find solutions to the challenges faced by developing countries, Harerimana added.

"So, if the Global South understands that the problem needs their attention and (find) the solution from within themselves, I hope that with that, we shall be able to face and to overcome some of these challenges," the ambassador said.

Themed "Bandung Spirit for Africa's Agenda 2063," the forum is expected to be a foundation for building cooperation between Indonesia and African countries in the future.

Some of the forms of cooperation that will be prioritized at the forum include cooperation in economic transformation, energy, mining, food security, health, and development.

The concrete results that are expected to be achieved include agreements between governments (G-to-G), government and businesses (G-to-B), and businesses (B-to-B), and the Grand Design for Indonesia's development with Africa, including with third countries through triangular cooperation.

ANTARA

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