Highlights: Indonesia 'wants to have a relationship with Africa that is egalitarian' More than 200 million Indonesian voters went to the polls this Wednesday, February 14 to elect their president. This predominantly Muslim archipelago located in Southeast Asia maintains relations with the African continent. Relations established during the Bandung conference in 1955 and which have experienced a revival in recent years. Africa also appears as an alternative to the European market, for example in palm oil. But it also exports automobile parts, electronics, and agri-food.

More than 200 million Indonesian voters went to the polls this Wednesday, February 14 to elect their president. This predominantly Muslim archipelago located in Southeast Asia maintains relations…

Indonesia 'wants to have a relationship with Africa that is egalitarian'

More than 200 million Indonesian voters went to the polls this Wednesday, February 14 to elect their president. This predominantly Muslim archipelago located in Southeast Asia maintains long-standing relations with the African continent. Relations established during the Bandung conference in 1955 and which have experienced a revival in recent years. Interview with Christophe Dorigné-Thomson.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo with then South African Vice President Cyril Ramaphosa April 21, 2015 in Jakarta, Indonesia. © Dita Alangkara / AP

By: Guilhem Fabry

In 1955, Ghana, Liberia, Ethiopia, Sudan and Libya were invited to the Indonesian island of Java. Along with other countries in Asia and the Middle East, they want to affirm their solidarity with the nations fighting for their independence. National liberation movements are also there as observers. This is the case of the Algerian National Liberation Front. This conference is the foundation of the relationship between Indonesia

and

African countries.

Although their partnership weakened for several decades, Indonesian President

Joko Widodo

decided to make it a priority at the end of the 2010s. In August 2023, he made a historic visit to South Africa and three East African countries. to sign commercial contracts. During this visit, he claimed the spirit of Bandung to defend the independence of the South amid the rivalry between the United States and China.

According to Christophe Dorigné-Thomson, a Franco-British researcher in international relations and author of a book on Indonesia's relations with Africa, Indonesia seeks to establish partnerships that also benefit the African continent.

RFI: How are economic ties evolving between Indonesia and the African continent?

Christophe Dorigné-Thomson:

Indonesia does not want to appear as a country that is in the systematic search for raw materials, the systematic search for African markets, etc. No, they want to have a relationship with Africa that is egalitarian. Every country says that, and I think it's especially true in the case of Indonesia. They have an international image also linked to Bandung, linked to non-alignment, which means that they absolutely want to appear as people who bring about partnerships. They absolutely want to bring solutions to Africa.

Each time, they say: “

We are also open to the fact that Africans come to Indonesia

”. Recently, there was the Tanzanian president [Samia Suluhu, Editor's note] who came to Indonesia. It was the Tanzanian Chamber of Commerce which organized a huge business forum in a large hotel in Jakarta. And it came from the Tanzanian side.

And what goods does Indonesia trade with the African continent today?

To set up its value chain on electric batteries and then on electric vehicles, it needs additional materials, therefore cobalt, lithium, etc. which it is seeking in particular in the Democratic Republic of Congo. For lithium, we are talking about Zimbabwe. Africa also appears as an alternative to the European market, for example in

palm oil

. But it also exports automobile parts. It exports electronics, it exports various manufactured goods and then also agri-food.

The typical example is instant noodles called Indomie. They are the world leaders in instant noodles, and they are very present in Nigeria and Ghana. In many countries in Africa, they think that these are local products. So, it also shows the Indonesian capacity to integrate into the local fabric. And it's really emblematic of Indonesian business, if you like in the world and particularly in Africa, which has a priority because it's really where the market is developing the most for this type of product.

You also have interesting things: there are also a lot of African traders present in Jakarta. Historically, this was very much the case in the textile industry. It is interesting to see how these links are also developed by Africans themselves present in Asia.

Indonesia 'wants to have a relationship with Africa that is egalitarian'

Indonesia 'wants to have a relationship with Africa that is egalitarian'

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