TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Prabowo’s Deputy Minister of Finance, Thomas Djiwandono, held bilateral meetings with finance ministers from several countries during his visit to Washington, D.C., United States, on October 22-27, 2024. Speaking face-to-face with the ministers, he ensured a smooth government transition in Indonesia, signifying stability. 

Thomas met with finance ministers from several partner countries, namely the Netherlands, Singapore, and Australia. He also met with the presidents of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), as well as the Vice President of the World Bank for East Asia and the Pacific.

"The Deputy Minister conveyed the success of the government transition in Indonesia, ensuring political stability and sustaonability of development agendas," according to a press release from the Ministry of Finance on Monday, October 28, referring to power transfers from former President Joko Widodo and President Prabowo. 

During the bilateral meetings, Thomas explained Indonesia’s new government priorities, including food resilience, energy, and water.

In the meeting with Finance Minister of the Netherlands Eelco Heinen, the topics discussed included strategies to strengthen collaboration in the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action and efforts to design instruments and policies related to the global carbon market.

Meanwhile, in a bilateral agenda with Finance Minister of Singapore Indranee Rajah, sustainable finance was discussed, particularly about the development of the carbon market, green taxonomy, and the ASEAN Power Grid.

During the meeting with Finance Minister of Australia James Chalmers, Thomas presented economic strategies for Southeast Asia, designed while considering Indonesia as an important strategic partner for Australia.

Prabowo’s nephew then invited Australia to boost investment in Indonesia to support high economic growth.

He expressed a desire to enhance Indonesia's strategic role in the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) in his meeting with IsDB President Muhammad Al Jasser.

Meanwhile, in a meeting with AIIB President Jin Liqun, he expressed Indonesia's interest in hosting the AIIB annual meeting and requested AIIB to establish an operational office in Indonesia.

To the Vice President of the World Bank (WB) for East Asia and the Pacific, Manuela V. Ferro, Thomas Djiwandono requested the World Bank to design innovative loan structures to provide financing with more affordable interest rates for developing countries.

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