Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia has donated Rp113.4 billion or US$7.72 million to the Fiji government for the period from 2019 to 2024, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati informed in a post on her Instagram account @smindrawati.
The fund is used to improve the education sector and handle COVID-19 pandemic," she said on Thursday.
The donation is evidence of the close bilateral relations between Indonesia and Fiji. Fiji, an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, is one of Indonesia's partners.
It is also Indonesia's trade partner. In 2022, Indonesia's exports to the country reached US$40.48 million. They were dominated by shipments of cement, iron, and processed tobacco commodities, which increased by 40 percent compared to 2021.
To improve cooperation with Fiji, Indrawati met with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance of Fiji, Biman Prasad.
The two met on the sidelines of the ADB Annual Meeting and ASEAN Chairmanship AFMGM+3 in South Korea on Wednesday.
The meeting discussed the current global economic challenges in the form of inflation triggered by high energy and commodity prices.
Indrawati also shared her experience in managing crises in Indonesia through fiscal and financial consolidation as well as solid policy coordination.
"We also discussed the importance of multilateral coordination and cooperation to handle global challenges, including energy and food crises," she added.
Indonesia and Fiji are currently members of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) along with 12 other countries in the Indo-Pacific region, which seeks to realize fair and equitable growth.
Through the meeting, Indrawati said she expects that the trade activity and bilateral investment between Indonesia and Fiji can be strengthened further to mutually support the two countries' economic recovery.
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In her Instagram post, she also informed that she met with South Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, Choo Kyung-ho, in Incheon, South Korea, on Wednesday.
