TPP Can Contribute To Indonesia's Economy: U.S. Envoy

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - Indonesia has announced its intention to join the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) as it can contribute to its economy, U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Robert Blake has said.

"In the past year especially, Indonesia's international engagement has grown. For example, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has traveled twice to the United States. He met President Obama last October," the ambassador was quoted as saying by the embassy on its official website on Monday.

He said President Jokowi has announced Indonesia's intention to join the TTP. "The TPP process will contribute greatly to President Jokowi's goal of diversifying and increasing the competitiveness of the Indonesian economy," Blake said.

Blake said a democratically elected president should be focused on issues at home. Jokowi clearly cares about the Indonesian people at home and overseas, and also cares about Indonesia's stature abroad.

"Our two presidents elevated our bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership and signed more than $20 billion in bilateral trade and investment agreements. He also announced Indonesia's intention to join the Trans Pacific Partnership," he said during an event at the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club here on Monday.

Blake said in February, the President had traveled to Sunnylands, CA to attend the U.S.-ASEAN Leaders Summit.

The U.S. ambassador said that economic development has been Jokowi's major goal, and he has made progress in attracting foreign investment and promoting Indonesian products, strategies central to his international engagement.  

"That is also a central focus of American foreign policy and that of many other countries."

Indonesia, Blake said, also showed great leadership last May to help resolve the crisis of Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants.  Foreign Minister Marsudi agreed with her Malaysian counterpart to receive and shelter 7,000 migrants, with 1,800 actually arriving on Indonesian shores.

Later in the year, Indonesia hosted an important conference to urge other Asian countries to increase support for and participation in UN peacekeeping efforts, while announcing its own intention to become the world's tenth largest provider of peacekeeping troops.

As the world's largest Muslim-majority democracy, Indonesia continues to host the Bali Democracy Forum, participate actively in the Open Government Partnership, and join international condemnation of the Islamic State, while supporting international efforts to counter violent extremism, stop financial flows to terrorist organizations and counter the propaganda of groups like ISIS, Blake said.

Since Indonesia is one of the world's top greenhouse gas emitters, President Jokowi has shown commendable leadership to reduce carbon and other emissions, Blake said.

Jokowi announced at the Paris Climate Summit in December Indonesia's intention to reduce GHG emissions by 29 percent by 2030. Indonesia's Minister of Environment and Forest Nurbaya will sign the agreement on April 22, Blake said.

According to the ambassador, Jokowi has committed his government to ensuring that 23 percent of all energy consumed in 2025 will be derived from renewables. The Indonesian president established a moratorium on peatland development and created the Peatland Restoration Agency to restore 2 million hectares of peatland and tackle the annual peatland fires that release large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere each year.  

"The U.S. has substantial programs here to support these efforts that I would be glad to summarize in the question and answer period.        

"As a country that has made great progress in reducing the spread of malaria and improve health in Indonesia, it is now taking a global leadership role in the Global Health Security Agenda to fight infectious and other diseases," Ambassador Blake said. (WDY)