These details are not only important to African countries, but also to Indonesia’s neighbors, other regions of the world and even the great powers — the United States and China. As such, I argue that Indonesia must stop treating forums as its key diplomatic performance indicators and instead craft a tailored grand strategy for the region.

A focus on convening meetings has always been in Indonesia’s diplomatic records. From the 1955 Asian African Conference to the 2024 Indonesia-Africa Forum, the country ostensibly believes that meetings can achieve two goals in one strike: generating concrete economic benefits and exercising leadership on the global stage.

Through a forum, Indonesia’s meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) sector can generate revenue from the visiting delegates and some of them may buy handmade souvenirs from the country’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Through a forum, Indonesian leaders can shake hands with their counterparts from diverse African countries, taking photos that are then used as a measurement of progress.

While this pragmatic paradigm is not unique to Indonesia, the country can absolutely do better considering its position as a growing economic powerhouse.

For starters, the seriousness of Indonesia’s Africa pivot cannot be justified only by organizing a forum.

Adequate resources and public awareness are crucial. Unfortunately, African countries are yet to enjoy these privileges from Indonesia. Not only did the country spend less than 1 percent of its gross domestic product on foreign policy, but that limited amount is also concentrated on management support and presence at various multilateral platforms.