AFD Reinforces Support for Low-carbon Transition in Indonesia and Southeast Asia
published on 15 March 2022
With AFD Group’s CEO Rémy Rioux’s visit to Jakarta on 15 January, AFD has renewed its commitment to energy transition, sustainable ocean management, and sustainable finance in Indonesia, as well as to ASEAN. Two agreements were signed with PT SMI and PLN, and AFD’s Director General reaffirmed AFD’s commitment in the country to several ministers of the Indonesian government during bilateral meetings.
A major maritime power in Indo-Pacific and a member of the G20, Indonesia is playing an increasingly important role on the international agenda. The country is moving towards sustainable finance and energy transition. During his visit, Rémy Rioux reaffirmed the priority for AFD to accompany the country in its transitions.
Renewal of France’s support to Indonesia
On this occasion, several cooperation agreements were signed. The first is to renew the partnership between AFD and PT SMI, the Indonesian development bank, for another three years. This agreement reflects the desire to continue cooperation between the two development institutions, but also to support the development of PT SMI activities. It also aims to go further, by strengthening cooperation between PT SMI and AFD on knowledge sharing and peer exchanges in particular.
The second agreement was signed between PLN, the national electricity company, and AFD to promote the development of wind energy in Indonesia. In total, €1.3 million should be mobilized to finance feasibility studies and strengthen the capacity of PLN agents on the development of wind energy projects, and ultimately support the country’s energy transition.
In addition to these two signatures, the Director-General of AFD welcomed Indonesia’s commitments to sustainable ocean management and the cooperation between AFD and the government on this subject, during his meeting with H.E. Sakti Wahyu Trenggono, Minister of Fisheries. AFD has mobilized more than €492 million over the past ten years in the maritime and marine sectors.
Regional cooperation
At the regional level, this visit was an opportunity to recall AFD’s willingness to work alongside ASEAN on various sectors such as energy or air pollution, within the framework of France’s status as a development partner, obtained in September 2020. The delegation, also composed of AFD’s Regional Director in Southeast Asia, Yazid Bensaïd, met with H.E. Robert Matheus Michael Tene, Deputy Secretary General of ASEAN.
A France-Indonesia international partnership
Finally, both countries expressed their willingness to work together internationally. Rémy Rioux met with H.E. Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Minister of Finance, to discuss cooperation between the current Indonesian G20 Presidency and the Finance in Common Summit (FICS) conveyed by AFD, and proposing both Indonesia’s participation in the FICS to be held on 19 and 20 October 2022, but also a contribution from the FICS to the working groups led by the G20.
Finally, the creation of new synergies between the AFD Group and the Indonesian international cooperation agency, IndoAid, was discussed, with the aim of strengthening cooperation between the two institutions in Indo-Pacific.
"I welcome these fruitful meetings with our various Indonesian partners. In 15 years, AFD Group has become one of Indonesia’s first bilateral partners, with €3 billion in financing. The new agreements signed and the dialogues initiated will help to support the government’s priorities at the national level and to further cooperate at the regional level,” said Rémy Rioux, Chief Executive Officer of AFD.
