Indonesian President Jokowi Congratulates US President-Elect Joe Biden

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesian President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo has congratulated President-elect Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris on beating incumbent President Donald Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence in the 2020 US presidential election.

“My warmest congratulations @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris on your historic election. The huge turn out is a reflection of the hope placed on democracy,” said Jokowi on his Instagram account @jokowi on Sunday, November 8.

“Look forward to work closely with you in strengthening Indonesia-US strategic partnership and pushing forward our cooperation on economy, democracy and multilateralism for the benefit of our two people [sic] and beyond.”

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Jokowi joined other world leaders such as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, German Chancellor Angela Merkel in congratulating the 77-year-old Biden, a veteran politician who served as US President Barack Obama’s Vice President from 2008 to 2016.

Indonesian foreign policy expert Dinna Prapto Raharja is certain that a Biden presidency would provide opportunities for Indonesia to bolster bilateral ties with the United States.

“A Biden administration opens the possibilities for further economic cooperation between Indonesia and the US. We have to clearly convince Washington about the opportunities and benefits of furthering a strategic [economic] partnership with Indonesia,” she said.

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“Indonesia probably has to put more effort into the partnership as we are not one of the US’ close allies. The US is also more likely to focus on economic recovery, including the use of protectionist measures.”

She suggested that Indonesia move quickly to get Biden’s attention after his inauguration as the US’ 46th President in January 2021. “[The government] has to ensure that Indonesia would be one of Biden’s first destinations,” Dinna said.

“Indonesia should also ensure that the economic breaks that we received under the Trump administration, like the Generalized System of Preferences for Indonesian exports [to the US], will continue under Biden.”

She suggested that the Indonesian government be just as assertive in academics, research and other fields before the momentum is lost.

(Writer: Rakhmat Nur Hakim | Editors: Krisiandi, Diamanty Meiliana)

Sources:

https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2020/11/08/12114221/presiden-jokowi-ucapkan-selamat-kepada-joe-biden-dan-kamala-harris. 

https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2020/11/08/15100511/kemenangan-biden-dinilai-bisa-berdampak-positif-bagi-indonesia-ini-syaratnya?page=all#page2.