Jakarta, 08/08/2024 – ​​In preparation for the 2nd Indonesia-Africa Forum (IAF), Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pahala Nugraha Mansury. invited national and international media colleagues to the Media Gathering Session for the 2nd IAF on Thursday, August 8, 2024.

In his opening speech, the Vice Minister emphasized the strategic importance of Africa to Indonesia as a strategic region for market diversification, investment, and commodities.

He also highlighted the strong historical ties between the two, which began with the Asia-African Conference in 1955, giving birth to the 'Bandung Spirit.'

He pointed out Africa's increasingly vital role as a source of global commodities, including significant reserves of oil, gas, and critical minerals in the world. The Vice Minister underlined that for Indonesia, Africa as an equal partner, part of the Global South, plays a crucial role in efforts toward sustainable development transition.

The strategic partnership between Indonesia and Africa is reflected in their shared visions, Indonesia's Vision 2045 and Africa's Agenda 2063. Both entities have extraordinary cooperation potential, with a combined GDP of USD 4.4 trillion and a population of 1.7 billion.

Furthermore, the Vice Minister outlined the plans for the 2nd IAF, scheduled to take place from September 1-3, 2024, at Hotel Mulia, Bali, with the theme "Bandung Spirit for Africa's Agenda 2063". The forum will focus on issues related to economic transformation, energy and mining, food, health resilience, and development cooperation.

The 2nd IAF will be attended by 28 African heads of state and hundreds of participants from various sectors, and will include meetings of heads of state, panel discussions, exhibitions, business matching, and various side events. The forum is expected to generate concrete cooperation valued at USD 3.5 billion.

The Vice Minister encourage the media to play an active role in amplifying the IAF by publishing and disseminating information about the event, covering the activities during the forum, and reporting on the IAF programs across various media platforms.

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