Jakarta. Richard R Verma, US Deputy Secretary of State for management and resources, is scheduled to visit Indonesia later this week.

Verma will first head to Fiji and Australia as part of his overseas trip that starts from Monday to Friday. His visit came a few months after the US and Indonesia upgraded their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership -- the highest possible status of cooperation.

“Deputy Secretary Verma will meet senior Indonesian officials to discuss how to further the strong US-Indonesia partnership,” a press release by the American embassy in Jakarta reads.

The press release, however, did not specify which senior officials Verma would be meeting.

Verma plans to address the US Embassy Jakarta’s premier cultural center @america to talk about Washington’s so-called Indo-Pacific strategy. This document lays out the US’s goals to create a “more resilient and free” Indo-Pacific region.

“He will also discuss our ongoing investment in Indonesia and the region’s success through initiatives such as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity [IPEF],” the press release reads.

Verma will discuss the grant programs by the US foreign development aid agency Millennium Challenge Corporation. The American diplomat plans to talk about the projects funded by Washington’s development bank, the Development Finance Corporation. 

While in Jakarta, Verma will be meeting several of the permanent representatives to ASEAN for some talks on digital economy and artificial intelligence (AI).

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his American counterpart Joe Biden announced the new comprehensive strategic partnership status last November. Both countries seek to partner for a more resilient and sustainable global semiconductor value chain.

The IPEF is the Washington-led economic initiative that brings together 14 countries. Members include the US, India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Brunei Darussalam, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, among others. The three countries that Verma will be visiting -- Australia, Fiji, and Indonesia -- are all part of the IPEF group.

The IPEF is not a traditional trade agreement that offers its members tariff reductions. However, it wants to create cooperation in four pillars: trade, supply chain, clean economy, and fair economy. Jokowi has vowed to help the IPEF reach the outstanding trade pillar agreement this year.

In 2023, the US inked a five-year grant worth $649 million for Indonesia. The grant, which comes from the Millennium Challenge Corporation, mainly focuses on improving the financing of infrastructure, particularly transport and logistics. 

The Development Finance Corporation has committed technical assistance funding to Hydrogène De France or HDF to support green hydrogen projects in Indonesia, according to the bank’s official website.

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