Mulyani Indrawati, Minister of Finance, Indonesia, and Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, have announced the launch of the “India – Indonesia Economic and Financial Dialogue”.
The platform, which will be launched during the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting, aims to improve bilateral collaboration and foster understanding of international challenges.“The evolution of India's ‘Look East Policy’ in 1991, followed by the ‘Act East Policy’, has facilitated a rapid development in our bilateral relations, particularly in the commercial and cultural fields,” Sitharaman said.
“Indonesia has emerged as India’s largest trading partner in the ASEAN region, with our trade seeing an eightfold increase since 2005, reaching an impressive $38 billion in FY 2022-23,” she added. Since the adoption of India's Look East policy in 1991 and the Act East Policy in the subsequent years, there has been a rapid development in bilateral relations between India and Indonesia in both commercial and cultural fields.
By bringing together financial and economic policymakers from both nations, the EFD Dialogue is positioned to improve cooperation on bilateral and global economic and financial issues. Macroeconomic issues, global economic prospects, bilateral investment relations, and collaboration on ASEAN and G20 issues are all areas of cooperation.
The two finance ministers acknowledged the promise of the digital economy and the possibilities for fintech partnership for financial inclusion.
This Dialogue promises to present a special opportunity for mutual learning and policy coordination given the commonalities between India and Indonesia as rapidly expanding economies and their active participation in multilateral organizations like the G-20, WTO, and East Asia Summit.