Indonesia secures Swiss funding boost for OECD membership push

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto revealed that Switzerland had agreed to provide 3 million euros to support Indonesia’s accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The support was confirmed during his talks with Swiss President Guy Parmelin on the sidelines of the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting 2026 in Paris, France, according to a statement cited in Jakarta on Friday.

Airlangga explained that the assistance would be translated into a bilateral cooperation program through 2028, covering “three crucial areas,” including governance improvements within Indonesian state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

He added that the program extends to capacity-building initiatives to promote compliance with the OECD Responsible Business Conduct and support for Indonesia’s accession to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.

Indonesia, he continued, has mobilized more than 60 ministries and state agencies to study 240 OECD legal instruments to ensure meaningful adherence to the organization's standards.

In addition to discussing OECD membership, the two countries explored opportunities to step up economic cooperation, highlighting plans to sign a non-binding memorandum of understanding on minerals and metals on June 23, 2026.

The cooperation is expected to extend partnerships to critical minerals that have become strategic commodities in the global energy transition.

Furthermore, Airlangga drew attention to Indonesia’s ongoing SOE structural reform aimed at reducing the number of state-run business entities in pursuit of efficiency.

In this regard, he said that sovereign wealth fund Danantara issues international bonds to attract foreign capital.

“Indonesia will work with Switzerland to adopt global best practices, leveraging Switzerland’s market expertise,” he added.

He went on to say that Indonesia and Switzerland had agreed to intensify coordination to strengthen energy and food resilience amid souring geopolitics in the Middle East.

On that note, the minister underscored Indonesia’s successful energy diversification strategy, reflected in the fact that Saudi Arabia accounts for only 20 percent of Indonesia's oil imports, with the remainder sourced from the United States, Nigeria, Angola, and Gabon.

Moreover, he emphasized that Indonesia had achieved self-sufficiency in certain food commodities and secured sufficient fertilizer stocks, enabling exports to Australia.

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs signed a memorandum of understanding on the development of smart grids and battery storage technologies to optimize Indonesia’s solar energy potential.

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Translator: Bayu Saputra, Tegar Nurfitra

Editor: M Razi Rahman

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