Indonesia Roundup: Foreign visits, presidential elections, budget surplus

Presidential visit

Indonesian President, Joko Widodo has travelled to Washington ahead of a scheduled meeting with US President Joe Biden today. Before his US trip, Jokowi was present at an emergency meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League to discuss the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict in the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In a speech, Jokowi promised to deliver the meeting's outcomes to Biden at the White House.

Indonesia elections

The Indonesia Electoral Commission (KPU) has announced that serial numbers for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates for the upcoming presidential elections will be drawn on Tuesday October 14, 2023. "The drawing and determination of the serial numbers for the presidential and vice-presidential candidate pairs is planned to be held at the KPU Office on Tuesday, until finished," KPU Commissioner Idham Holik in a press conference said. The KPU in a closed KPU plenary session on Monday named three presidential-vice presidential candidate pairs participating in the 2024 presidential election, local media Bisnis Indonesia reported.

Budget surplus

The Governor of Bank Indonesia (BI) Perry Warjiyo has reported that BI recorded a budget surplus of IDR 34.94 trillion ($2.223 billion) up to September this year. According to the governor, up until the end of 2023, BI's annual budget (ATBI) is projected to have a surplus of IDR 27.19 trillion ($1.731 billion). At the BI annual budget plan meeting on Monday, he is quoted by Bisnis Indonesia saying, "The prognosis for this achievement is better than the initial plan for ATBI 2023, which at that time was planned for a deficit of IDR 19.99 trillion ($1.272 billion)."

Rice harvest delay

Due to an extended statewide drought, the Indonesian National Food Agency (Bapanas) has projected a two-month delay in next year's harvest, with the earliest harvest anticipated in May. Arief Prasetyo Adi, the head of Bapanas, has given notice that this delay would cause rice prices to rise because of limited supplies in the first quarter of 2019, local media the Jakarta Post reported.

MRT East-West line project

The Indonesian government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on Saturday signed the Minutes of Discussion (MoD) of the mass Rapid Transit (MRT) East-West Line Phase 1 Project. Indonesia Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi in an official announcement released on Sunday said, "I hope that the East-West Line of the MRT project can run well and can be completed on time so that the community can immediately enjoy it."