Indonesia and Germany strengthen cooperation on renewable energy development and vocational training
The Indonesian government and Germany have officially strengthened cooperation on new and renewable energy development as well as vocational education and training.
This follows a meeting between Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto and German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Reem Alabali Radovan in Jakarta on Thursday.
“Indonesia welcomes the German delegation to advance several pipeline projects in the renewable energy sector,” said Coordinating Minister Airlangga.
“Another matter we discussed relates to vocational education, which is also important for both Indonesia and Germany,” he added.
Coordinating Minister Airlangga noted that the strengthening of bilateral cooperation builds on the economic partnership between Indonesia and Germany that has been well established for a considerable time.
He said one sign of Germany’s confidence is that more than 250 companies are already doing business and operating in Indonesia, with cumulative investment from 2021-2026 reaching US$1.2 billion.
Meanwhile, specifically for the renewable energy sector, Airlangga said this is in line with Indonesia’s receipt of international funding commitments under the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) amounting to US$21.4 billion to support clean energy transition and decarbonisation.
“Indonesia has an allocation of more than US$21 billion, but progress has been somewhat slow. So far only around US$4 billion has been utilised. So we need to move faster,” said Airlangga.
On the other hand, Minister Radovan said Indonesia is a very important strategic partner for Germany, with cooperation based on mutual trust and long-established ties, particularly in the field of development.
“We want to strengthen our cooperation in the economic and development sectors. We discussed how German companies can play a role in sustainable development in Indonesia, particularly in the renewable energy sector,” said Radovan.
Furthermore, she said Germany is also committed to strengthening the scale of vocational training in both countries.
“There are opportunities for young Indonesian students to learn German while participating in training, both in Germany and in Indonesia, organised by German companies,” said Minister Radovan.
She also confirmed the involvement of other relevant partners such as the German Embassy in Indonesia, the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the German Development Bank (KfW), and the German Chamber of Commerce in strengthening ties and enhancing economic and development cooperation with Indonesia.
“Our meeting today was very productive, and I am very optimistic that going forward we can further strengthen this partnership,” said Minister Radovan.