President Joko Widodo Emphasizes Economic Equality in Meeting with German Chancellor

INTI,- On Sunday, April 16, 2023, President Joko Widodo was received by Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz at the Guesthouse Lower Saxony in Hanover, Germany. Upon his arrival at around 7:30 p.m. local time, the President was greeted by Chancellor Scholz along with the Minister President of Lower Saxony, Stephan Weil.

The two leaders then proceeded to the Guesthouse Lower Saxony and took a group photo before heading to the first floor for a face-to-face meeting. After their meeting, President Jokowi and Chancellor Scholz went downstairs to the dining room where they broke their fast together with dates. The event continued with a dinner reception.

In a press statement, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi explained that during his meeting with Chancellor Scholz, President Jokowi emphasized the importance of achieving equal economic relations between Indonesia and Germany as well as between Indonesia and the European Union.

"To this end, various EU regulations that hinder prosperity need to be improved. The President also requested German support for the conclusion of negotiations on the Indonesia-EU CEPA agreement," said the Foreign Minister.

Regarding investments, the Foreign Minister stated that the President welcomed the collaboration of the joint economic and investment committee between Indonesia and Germany. Furthermore, the President emphasized the need for German investment in Indonesia to focus on priority sectors such as export-oriented industries, renewable energy, and downstream industries.

According to the Foreign Minister, the Head of State stressed the importance of German investment and technology experts in supporting Indonesia's energy transition. "The discussion also focused on the implementation of The Just Energy Transition Partnership," she added.

Furthermore, the Foreign Minister also noted several outcomes of President Jokowi's visit, including the relationships between the governments (G to G) and between businesses (B to B).

"For G to G, two agreements were signed between the governments of Indonesia and Germany, namely the Joint Declaration of Intent on the Joint Economic and Investment Committee regarding the establishment of a joint government and private sector forum to discuss increasing economic and investment cooperation," said the Foreign Minister.

Additionally, the Foreign Minister stated that another outcome of the President's visit was the Joint Declaration of Intent in the Feed of Digitalization between the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology and the Ministry of Digital and Transformation of Germany to support the development of digital transformation.

Meanwhile, in the business-to-business cooperation, the Foreign Minister conveyed that 18 agreements had been formed with a total value of approximately IDR 27.9 trillion in the sectors of sustainability and energy transition, investment, start-up innovation, and Making Indonesia 4.0.***Hans