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Jokowi pitches Nusantara at G20 summit
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Workers complete construction of the Government Center Core Area (KIPP) of the new capital Nusantara in Penajam Paser Utara, East Kalimantan, on Aug. 22, 2023. (Antara/M Risyal Hidayat)
Promoting the country’s ambitious Nusantara capital city project at the Group of 20 Summit in India last week, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo returned to Jakarta with four fresh investment commitments, albeit still with no concrete promises of actual funding.
Meeting with numerous world leaders in New Delhi starting on Friday, Jokowi on top of reiterating his message of equality among all nations also attempted to woo foreign investors into throwing their hats into Nusantara, an ambitious relocation project estimated to cost Rp 466 trillion (US$32.6 billion).
On the G20 sidelines, Jokowi met with, among others, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron, of which the last meeting produced four letters of intent (LoIs) for the development of Nusantara.
“I appreciate the efforts of the French ambassador to Indonesia in bringing investors to Nusantara,” Jokowi said during his meeting with Macron, “I hope that this new agreement will be actualized soon.”
The same sales pitch was also made to Italy’s Meloni, with whom Jokowi also promoted Indonesia’s plans to establish an electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem and green infrastructure.
Yet despite an increase in Italy’s investment in Indonesia, including the opening of a Piaggio factory in West Java last year, Rome is seemingly hesitant about investing in Nusantara, with no reports of the bilateral meeting producing any outcomes.
A struggling pitch
