Bogor. France on Friday said it would back Indonesia’s membership to the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), marking a progress in the Southeast Asian nation’s quest to become a developed country.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has been actively trying to get support from fellow leaders for Indonesia to be an OECD member.  Jokowi recently tried to get Paris’ support when he met his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in India. According to French Ambassador to Indonesia Fabien Penone, Paris responded positively to Indonesia’s bid to join the OECD.

“We need to work together because there are many issues to be tackled in the multilateral arena. So we value the importance of Indonesia’s candidacy to the OECD. This will be a very important step in the reinforcement of the international world of Indonesia,” Penone told reporters on the sidelines of a water security seminar in Bogor on Friday. 

“We will help and support Indonesia’s candidacy,” Penone said. 

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Indonesia has been a key partner of the OECD since 2007 and is aiming to be the third Asian country to join the 38-member intergovernmental organization, after South Korea and Japan. 

Jokowi last month hosted a visit by the OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said Cormann praised what Jokowi had done to reform Indonesia’s economy --including on the investment front-- amidst global uncertainties. The comment gave Indonesia a boost of confidence for its OECD candidature.

Cormann also met with Chief Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto during his Jakarta trip.  The average OECD member has a per capita income of over $10,000. According to Airlangga, an OECD membership can help Indonesia achieve those numbers by 2035, as the country works to meet the group’s standards on green economy, for instance.

An OECD accession usually takes between four and eight years. However, Indonesia is aiming to secure membership in less than four years. To speed up the joining date, the Indonesian government is mulling forming a national committee to identify the policy gaps.

The World Bank data shows Indonesia’s gross national income per capita stood at $4,580 in 2022.

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