Wahyu Dwi Anggoro
"In terms of bilateral relations with Singapore, as the closest neighbour and strategic partner, Indonesia’s bilateral relations are getting stronger, growing from strength to strength. The closeness of Singapore and Indonesia can be viewed from the frequent visits of leaders and high officials. President Joko Widodo visited Singapore for the Leaders’ Retreat in March this year and in early June to speak at the Ecosperity Week," the Indonesian Embassy stated.
In trade, Singapore continues to be Indonesia’s most strategic trading partner and the biggest in ASEAN. Indonesia is also Singapore’s 2nd largest trading partner in ASEAN, with a 17% share of the total trade. Total bilateral trade value in 2022 reached USD33.8 billion, increasing by 24.6% year-on-year compared to 2021. This value is 2nd highest in the last five years and biggest after the pandemic.
There were seven bilateral agreements and memorandum of understanding signed by the governments of Indonesia and Singapore during the Leaders’ Retreat in March this year. The RISING Fellowship program which was initiated in 2018 to increase the capacity of regional leaders, as well as the Executive Development Programme for senior government officials in cooperation between National Development Planning (Bappenas), Temasek Foundation, and the Nanyang Technological University, are also continued after the pandemic.
Other collaboration in digital and healthcare is also on the rise between the two countries with nine business-to-business agreements signed and more to come.
This strong collaboration is not only done for bilateral relations to complement each other’s interests nationally but also to contribute to regional and global levels. While striving to keep stability and prosperity at the national level, Indonesia has always been consistently making efforts to contribute to the regional and global level in various ways.
