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Jokowi reaps $13b in investment deals from East Asian tour
On the last stop of his East Asian itinerary, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo visited South Korea to meet with his counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol. The two discussed cooperation on Indonesia’s new capital city project and technological partnerships.
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President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (left) talks with his South Korean counterpart President Yoon Suk-yeol, at the Presidential Office in Seoul on July 28, 2022. (Presidential Secretariat's Press Bureau/Laily Rachev)
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resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is bringing home at least US$13 billion in investment pledges and business deals after making the last stop of his three-day East Asian tour in Seoul on Thursday to meet with his new South Korean counterpart, Yoon Suk Yeol.
Previously, Jokowi visited Beijing and Tokyo in search of greater market access for Indonesian products and new sources of investment, as well as to facilitate cooperation between state-owned enterprises and exchange views on regional and global security concerns.
In his opening remarks at the start of his meeting with Yoon, Jokowi said he was eager to intensify economic cooperation with South Korea, which he said would be realized through the Indonesia-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IK-CEPA). The deal was signed in 2020 and aims to strengthen the two countries’ ties in industrial, infrastructure, employment and trade matters.
Jokowi noted that South Korea’s previous investments had granted Indonesia “rapid growth and good prospects, particularly in [...] the steel industry, petrochemicals, batteries, electric vehicles, the power cable industry, telecommunications, garments and renewable energy”.
He also announced that South Korea would assist in the Nusantara capital city project.
Meanwhile, Yoon said Seoul had “built a foundation” of cooperation with ASEAN, noting that the association’s centrality and its Outlook on the Indo-Pacific were essential to the “peace and prosperity” of the region. Indonesia will lead ASEAN in 2023.
“Concrete cooperation will be made on supply chain matters and economic security. Indonesia is rich in strategic minerals such as nickel, which is an important material for the high-technology industry of South Korea,” Yoon said regarding bilateral economic cooperation initiatives.
