Joint Communiqué: Indonesia-Australia Annual Leaders’ Meeting

Prime Minister

The President of the Republic of Indonesia, His Excellency Joko Widodo, and the Prime Minister of Australia, The Hon Anthony Albanese MP, met for the Indonesia-Australia Annual Leaders’ Meeting in Bogor on 6 June 2022.

Leaders affirmed their commitment to addressing their nations’ shared challenges and to deepening cooperation under the five pillars of the bilateral Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) launched in 2018: economic and development partnership; connecting people; securing shared interests; maritime cooperation; and Indo‑Pacific stability and prosperity.

Prime Minister Albanese affirmed Australia’s support for Indonesia’s G20 Presidency this year and commended President Jokowi for his leadership in driving global efforts to recover together and recover stronger from the health and economic impacts of COVID-19 through prioritising global health architecture, sustainable energy transition and digital transformation.

Leaders addressed the urgent challenge of climate change, including the need to accelerate clean energy transition while maintaining and enhancing energy security. Leaders discussed new opportunities to deepen collaboration, including on access to affordable clean energy, clean technology, sustainable finance and climate resilience. Prime Minister Albanese affirmed Australia’s new commitment to a $200 million climate and infrastructure partnership with Indonesia. The content of the partnership will be developed between officials and launched as soon as mutually agreed.

Indonesia and Australia committed to deepening their bilateral economic relationship and expanding their trade and investment ties through the Indonesia‑Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA). Leaders noted the strong recovery in two-way goods and services trade, and observed that services trade, led by education and tourism, is rebounding following the resumption of quarantine-free travel. They highlighted the Australian Government’s 2021 Blueprint for Trade and Investment with Indonesia. They reaffirmed both countries’ commitment to revitalise bilateral trade, including by supporting greater ministerial engagement, advancing cooperation under IA‑CEPA, and raising the profile of the Katalis Economic Cooperation Program. Leaders also welcomed the proposed reciprocal visits of high profile trade and investment delegations from both sides in the second part of 2022.

Australia affirmed its strong support for Indonesia’s infrastructure agenda. Noting Australia’s development of its planned capital, Canberra, Australia offered a support package for the planning and development of the new Indonesian capital city, Nusantara, including the facilitation of technical and regulatory advice to support Indonesia’s ambition to plan a clean, green, hi-tech city.

Through Indonesia and Australia’s longstanding economic and development partnership, both nations outlined a shared path for economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. A renewed focus on health cooperation was also agreed, as Leaders acknowledged the significant health, social and humanitarian impacts of the pandemic in their respective nations and across the region. This will be supported by the renewed Memorandum of Understanding on Health Cooperation between Australia and Indonesia. Prime Minister Albanese reaffirmed Australia’s support for Indonesia’s COVID-19 vaccine supply and delivery of 8.4 million vaccines provided to date.

Leaders noted the importance of increasing people-to-people links and socio-cultural cooperation, noting IA-CEPA will deliver an increase to 5,000 per year by 2025 of allocated places to Indonesians under Australia’s Work and Holiday visa. They expressed their support for an increased two-way flow of students and the establishment of Australian university campuses in Indonesia following the successful opening of Monash University in Indonesia earlier in 2022. Prime Minister Albanese also announced ten prestigious “recover together, recover stronger” scholarships for Indonesians to complete Masters or PhDs in Australia in areas of research that support Indonesia’s G20 priorities. Leaders committed to strengthening cooperation in promoting the teaching of Bahasa Indonesia in Australia.

Indonesia and Australia reaffirmed their commitment to ASEAN and its centrality and their commitment to the implementation of the ASEAN-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Prime Minister Albanese expressed his support for Indonesia’s upcoming role as ASEAN Chair in 2023 and emphasised the importance of ASEAN-led architecture in underpinning regional stability and prosperity, including the East Asia Summit (EAS), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), and ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus.

Prime Minister Albanese reaffirmed Australia’s support for the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. Leaders welcomed the strong principles underpinning the Outlook – strengthening ASEAN Centrality, openness, transparency, inclusivity, a rules-based framework, good governance, respect for sovereignty, non-intervention, complementarity with existing cooperation frameworks, equality, mutual respect, mutual trust, mutual benefit and respect for international law, such as UN Charter, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and other relevant UN treaties and conventions, the ASEAN Charter and various ASEAN treaties and agreements and the EAS Principles for Mutually Beneficial Relations (2011) and expressed ongoing commitment to concrete cooperation under its four areas – Maritime, Connectivity, UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, and Economic and Other Areas of Cooperation.

Leaders reiterated their strong support for the ASEAN-led efforts to chart a course out of the crisis in Myanmar and urged the Myanmar military to engage meaningfully with ASEAN to urgently implement the ASEAN Five Point Consensus. They called on the Myanmar military to cease violence; engage in dialogue; release those arbitrarily detained; and allow unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance.

Indonesia and Australia reiterated their commitment to the Australia-Indonesia MOU on Trilateral Cooperation with the Pacific, which provides a positive framework for both countries to work together to best support the needs of their Pacific neighbours.

Indonesia and Australia underscored their shared concern about the deteriorating security, economic and humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. Australia commended Indonesia’s leading role in advocating for human rights and women’s rights in Afghanistan.

Leaders agreed to work together to tackle the growing challenge of global food security. Supply chain issues following the pandemic, coupled with the conflict in Ukraine, have significantly reduced global food supplies, and increased global food prices. Indonesia and Australia advocated that agricultural exporting countries maintain open, transparent, and predictable agricultural trade practices. Indonesia and Australia’s agricultural cooperation was enhanced in January 2022 with the signing of the Indonesia-Australia Memorandum of Understanding on Agricultural Cooperation. Leaders agreed to deepen cooperation in food safety. Prime Minister Albanese committed Australian support, including for vaccines and technical expertise, to respond to the recent outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease and lumpy skin disease in Indonesia.

Leaders highlighted the significant role of Indonesia and Australia’s bilateral defence and security relationship including in supporting regional security and stability, as evidenced by the annual Australian and Indonesian Foreign and Defence Ministers Meeting (2+2) and plans to elevate our defence cooperation.

Leaders looked forward to their Ministers jointly hosting the 8th Bali Process Ministerial Meeting later in the year and the 20th Anniversary of the Bali Process. Leaders recognised the important contribution this forum has made to enhance regional cooperation on people smuggling and human trafficking issues.

Prime Minister Albanese expressed his sincere gratitude to the Indonesian Government for the warm welcome and the hospitalities accorded to him and the Australian delegation during the official visit, which reflects the bonds of long-standing friendship and solid foundation for the advancement of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

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