(Jakarta Post) Showtime for Jokowi

12/12/2018

Prior to his departure for Beijing to attend the APEC summit, the first of three international summits on his schedule, many Indonesians, especially experts on foreign affairs, questioned whether President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s had the necessary diplomatic skills. On Monday, the new President proved his doubters wrong.

In addressing the APEC CEO forum on Monday, Jokowi lived up to his status as the CEO of Indonesia, convincing the international business community that the time was right for it to bring money and technologies to Indonesia. In his 13-minute speech, delivered in simple English, the President not only talked about the positive sides of Indonesia, but about the nation’s challenges, especially in terms of infrastructure and land acquisition.

As a former businessman, he understands well how to do business in Indonesia. It is true that his predecessor Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appeared more intellectual and eloquent than Jokowi at such forums, but Jokowi left his own impression with a down-to-earth approach. His mission was very simple: To woo investors and promote his ambition of making Indonesia the world’s “maritime axis” within five years.

Initially the President seemed reluctant to attend the three summits: APEC, the ASEAN and the East Asian summit in Myanmar and the G20 summit in Brisbane, Australia. It is understandable that he wanted to concentrate on pressing domestic matters and perhaps felt nervous to negotiate with global leaders such as US President Barack Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

As the leader of Indonesia, the largest member of ASEAN and member of the world’s 20 largest economies, Jokowi could not shirk his responsibility toward international affairs. In his 10-year tenure, Yudhoyono was fond of attending, becoming the center of attention in international forums. The retired general often showed off his deep knowledge of global politics.

However, as Jokowi said, the true goal of diplomacy is to protect Indonesia’s national interests in very real terms: the economy. This week he will also participate in the ASEAN summit and the G20 meeting. These will be easier for him because now his self-confidence has grown stronger and many participants of the upcoming summits also attended the Beijing forum.

In Myanmar, Jokowi needs to act more as a co-leader of the regional grouping. His colleagues want to hear directly from the President about his readiness to lead Indonesia into the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) era, which will come into force at the end of 2015. As the largest economy in the region, Indonesia plays a crucial role in implementing ASEAN commitments.

No matter how big and important Indonesia becomes, ASEAN will remain the country’s diplomatic cornerstone.

Jokowi is expected to steal another show at the G20 summit. But the success of his overseas mission will be weighed by his ability to attract more investment in Indonesia.

So far he has done a good job.

JejakParlemen

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(Jakarta Post) Showtime for Jokowi