The 2nd IAF is Held in Bali, Discussing Issues of Food Security to Minerals.
Bali – Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pahala Nugraha Mansury, stated that Bali will host the Indonesia-Africa Forum (IAF) and the 2nd High Level Forum Multi Stakeholder Partnership (HLF-MSP) from September 1 to 3, 2024.
“The forum organizes various activities, including meetings of heads of state, panel discussions, exhibitions, and business matching. This forum is expected to produce concrete cooperation,” said Pahala.
Pahala also conveyed that there are four priority issues discussed at this forum, namely food security, energy security, health security, and mineral security.
Regarding the issue of food security, Indonesia and Africa have high food needs. In terms of energy security, Africa can be a source of energy (oil and gas) that can foster cooperation in renewable energy with Indonesia. In health security, Indonesia and African countries have a high demand for medicines, vaccines, and medical devices, which could open up trade as well as joint development and production in the health sector. Meanwhile, for mineral security, Indonesia and African countries have the potential to develop a supply chain for the production of components and batteries for electric vehicles (EVs).
“In addition to discussing those four priority issues, this forum also hosts panel discussions, exhibitions, and business matching, while also focusing on economic transformation, energy, mining, food security, health, and development cooperation,” he said.
He added that Africa is important for Indonesia because the region serves as a strategic partner for market diversification, investment, and the expansion of global influence. Additionally, Africa has a historical closeness to Indonesia as a Global South country. This closeness began with the Asia-Africa Conference in 1955, which gave rise to the “Bandung Spirit.”
“The strategic partnership between Indonesia and Africa is evident in their shared vision. Indonesia’s Golden Vision 2045 and Africa’s Agenda 2063 highlight the great potential for cooperation across various sectors,” he added.
According to Pahala, Indonesia is a country with extraordinary natural wealth, including nickel, copper, bauxite, and more. Similarly, countries in Africa also possess a vast amount of natural resources.
“We hope that the results of this forum will lead to bilateral cooperation in various sectors between Indonesia and African countries. Such as business deals, agreements between the private sector, as well as a grand design, namely the Development Cooperation with Africa 2024-2029,” concluded Pahala. [*]
