Heaptalk, Jakarta — Bank Indonesia (BI) announced its cooperation with the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemlu) in international economic diplomacy. Governor of Bank Indonesia Perry Warjiyo and Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno L.P. Marsudi signed a memorandum of understanding that is effective until May 15, 2029.
This measure includes coordination and synergy in conducting international relations. The two institutions will focus on three main aspects, one of which is managing Indonesia’s positive perception and jointly promoting investment and trade to support the national economy and improve understanding of Indonesian policies.
Further, BI and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will collaborate in formulating Indonesia’s positions and conducting international relations to support the country’s interests and enhance its role at bilateral, regional, and multilateral levels. In addition, both institutions will support national economic interests at the international level. More specifically, these national economic interests include cooperation to promote the use of local currency in transactions, expanding payment system connectivity, and developing the Islamic economy and finance.
In recent years, Bank Indonesia has been actively fostering collaboration in promoting the use of local currency in transactions with central banks of several countries in Asia, including the Reserve Bank of India, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE Central Bank), the Bank of Korea, Bank Negara Malaysia, the Bank of Thailand, the Bank of Japan, and the Central Bank of the People’s Republic of China. The institution also established a National Task Force for local currency transactions (LCT) with partner countries on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit 2023 in Jakarta (09/06).
Regarding the collaboration, Perry Warjiyo stated, “The signing of this memorandum of understanding reflects the efforts of coordination and synergy between the two institutions to enhance and strengthen Indonesia’s role and position internationally.” This way, the economic diplomacy carried out by BI and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is expected to be more effective in supporting national interests and the positive perception of Indonesia’s economy at the international level.
