[BOGOR, INDONESIA] Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that Singapore looks forward to Indonesia driving the growth of South-east Asia’s green economy, and he suggested that both countries could expand their cooperation to carbon credits next.
The green economy was one of several areas of economic cooperation that PM Lee and Indonesian President Joko Widodo spoke about on Monday (Apr 29) at a leaders’ retreat held in Bogor, West Java.
PM Lee said that both Singapore and Indonesia are making progress in facilitating cross-border electricity trading, exploring carbon capture and storage solutions, as well as mangrove conservation.
At the retreat, both countries signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on community empowerment activities related to mangrove ecosystems in Indonesia.
Under the agreement – signed by Singapore’s Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean and Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan – a bilateral framework will be set up to promote the sustainable use of mangrove resources in local communities, starting with a pilot in Setokok Island in Batam, said the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) in a media statement on the same day.
Besides promoting awareness on sustainable mangrove ecosystems, as well as exchanging best practices on the sustainable use of mangrove products and economic opportunities from mangrove ecotourism, both governments will also mobilise academic and research institutions to undertake mangrove conservation and rehabilitation, added NCCS.
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Economic ties have been one of the main pillars of the relationship between both countries, with Singapore being the top foreign investor in Indonesia since 2014.
Investments from Singapore to Indonesia have increased steadily over the years to cumulatively exceed S$74 billion, PM Lee noted in a joint media statement with Widodo.
Also touching on economic ties in his speech, Widodo said that 29 Singaporean companies have shown interest in investing in Nusantara, Indonesia’s new capital.
He also added that efforts to export electricity to Singapore are progressing, alongside investment plans to support green industries.
In September last year, both countries inked an agreement which will allow Singapore to import 2 gigawatts of low-carbon electricity from Indonesia.
Besides the green economy, both countries signed an agreement on defence cooperation at the retreat.
PM Lee also acknowledged the contributions of Widodo to Indonesia, given that this will be their seventh and final retreat as leaders of their respective countries.
Widodo, like PM Lee, is set to hand over the reins to his successor soon. PM Lee will hand over the premiership to Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on May 15. Widodo, meanwhile, will end his second and final term in office in October this year, as he prepares to hand the reins to Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto.
The former Indonesian army general won the popular vote in the Feb 14 election, and was recently declared by the elections commission as the next president of South-east Asia’s largest economy.
“With vision and leadership, he has put Indonesia on a strong economic trajectory, confident and optimistic about its path ahead, and raised Asean’s standing as a participant in international affairs with a view which is worth listening to, and with the contributions which will make a difference,” said PM Lee.
“It has brought stability and progress to Indonesia and to the entire region. Indonesia is Asean’s largest economy. When Indonesia prospers, the region prospers,” he added.
PM Lee noted that he and Widodo are handing the bilateral relationship in good state to their respective successors, both of whom were also present in Bogor as part of their countries’ delegations and had met along with the outgoing leaders.
He added that he is confident that both Subianto and Wong will “continue to bring the relationship to greater heights”.
