Jokowi, Lee Hsien Loong Discuss Defense, Investment, and ASEAN Issues

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian President Joko Widodo, also known as Jokowi, and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong emphasized the significance of persistent collaboration between their countries albeit they will retire this year.

Jokowi cordially received Lee at the Bogor Presidential Palace on Monday, April 29, the seventh Indonesia-Singapore Leaders' Retreat under the leadership of Lee and Jokowi.

“PM Lee's visit is a powerful indication of the continuity of cooperation between Singapore and Indonesia,” Jokowi said in a joint press statement.

According to him, several topics were discussed during the meeting, including politics-defense, green economy-investment, socio-culture, and ASEAN regional issues.

In the same statement, Lee emphasized his visit's significance, given that the two leaders would be retiring this year. He said that cooperation between Singapore and Indonesia has made extraordinary progress over the past decade. He also noted that over the past year, the city-state's investment in Indonesia could reach 74 billion Singapore dollars.

“We share a commitment to deepen mutual understanding and build robust relationships,” Lee said.

After the bilateral meeting, Jokowi and Lee witnessed the signing of two MoUs on community empowerment in the mangrove ecosystem and the Indonesia-Singapore Joint Update on Defense Cooperation (JUDC).

Lee is set to complete his term before being succeeded by Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on May 15, 2024. Meanwhile, the inauguration of President-elect Prabowo Subianto on October 20, 2024, will mark the end of the Jokowi administration.

Lawrence and Prabowo, who is currently the Defense Minister, accompanied Jokowi and Lee to the bilateral meeting, even joining the two leaders’ veranda talk at the Bogor Palace.

At the bilateral meeting, Jokowi requested Singapore's support for constructing a solar power plant in Indonesia's future capital IKN in East Kalimantan, and invited Singapore to become the developer of three halal industrial zones in Bintan, Serang, and Sidoarjo. He also offered cooperation in the training of Bali's healthcare workforce, healthcare digitalization, and the development of healthcare special economic zones.

Meanwhile, Lee sought to deepen cooperation in the digital economy and follow up on the Tech:X Programme, which encourages young professionals in the technology sector to gain experience in both Singapore and Indonesia. Singapore's prime minister also promoted the green economy by facilitating training and cross-border electricity exploration.

Both Jokowi and Lee also agreed to oversee the implementation of the Flight Information Region, defense cooperation, and extradition.

DANIEL A. FAJRI

Editor’s Choice: Jokowi Meets Singaporean PM on Leaders' Retreat; Signals Continuation of Bilateral Cooperation

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News