President Jokowi Meets with Former Prime Minister of UK Tony Blair

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo meets with former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair and delegates, at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Thursday (04/18). (Photo by: BPMI of Presidential Secretariat/Vico)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo Thursday (04/18) received a courtesy call from former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.

On that occasion, they discussed a range of strategic initiatives focused on enhancing the renewable energy sector and driving digital transformation across Indonesia.

In his statement after the meeting, Minister of Investment Bahlil Lahadalia revealed several key agreements with Tony Blair, including plan to build a solar panel facility in the Nusantara Capital (IKN), which will be carried out in collaboration with the United Arab Emirates.

“We’re in the process of finalizing the details of this development plan,” the Minister said, adding that Tony Blair would facilitate the initiative as part of broader collaboration in new renewable energy and logistics.

The discussion further delved into strategies for utilizing carbon storage in the country, which is seen as a potential avenue for bolstering the nation’s income streams.

“We also talked about carbon storage that had been decided yesterday, 70 percent for domestic use while 30 percent for [storage of carbon originating from] abroad,” Bahlil said.

Regarding digital transformation, Minister of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reforms (PANRB) Abdullah Azwar Anas emphasized Indonesia’s commitment to accelerating digital transformation within the bureaucratic sector.

To achieve this goal, his ministry is collaborating with the Tony Blair Institute and conducting studies in countries that have made significant progress in digital transformation, such as the United Kingdom and Estonia.

“We were ordered by the President to lead digital transformation efforts. When Tony Blair visited Ministry of PANRB, he stressed that there’s no faster way to boost the country’s achievements and improve bureaucratic efficiency than through digitalization,” he explained.

The Minister also pointed out that President Jokowi has specifically instructed the integration of digital services through a national portal, intending to make various government services more accessible to the public.

“Nowadays, there are around 27,000 applications out there, and with every innovation, another app pops up. Instead of making things easier for people to access services, it’s just adding to the confusion,” the Minister remarked. (BPMI of Presidential Secretariat/AIT) (RIF/MMB)