Jakarta — President Joko Widodo met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to strengthen diplomatic relations between the two countries, which have been running for 75 years, according to a statement from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
President Jokowi, who also chairs the delegation of the ASEAN-Australia Summit in Melbourne, Australia, in his meeting with Prime Minister Albanese, signed a number of agreements (MoUs), including the MoU on Electric Vehicle Collaboration with the establishment of a joint steering committee and a detailed draft work plan that encourages collaboration rather than competition, especially in the nickel sector.
The ASEAN-Australia Summit announced concrete steps to strengthen cooperation with Southeast Asia in facing the challenges of climate change and promoting clean energy. This commitment to cooperation includes initiating a 10 million Australian dollar climate and clean energy scheme.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong underlined the urgency of regional collaboration to address the threat of climate change.
“Climate change is a real threat to our region, and we are working with ASEAN partners to mitigate its impacts and accelerate the clean energy transition,” Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a written statement from the Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The scheme is designed to provide multi-year funding for climate and clean energy programs, including technical capacity building. This will ensure that Australia and ASEAN countries share expertise and learn from each other.
In response to the announcement, Australia’s Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, emphasised the importance of collaboration in building climate resilience in the region. “Australia is strengthening cooperation with our ASEAN partners, working together to improve our region, building new clean energy manufacturing and trade opportunities,” he said.
The program is also geared towards supporting the implementation of “Invested: Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040”, recognising the critical role of intergovernmental partnerships and the opportunities and challenges of clean energy transformation.
The scheme includes flexible funding methods to respond to partner country requests. It will be the first initiative designed under the Southeast Asia government-to-government (G to G) partnership program announced in 2023. (Hartatik)
