Indonesia is a relevant actor in development assistance within the framework of South-South cooperation. Even if at a relatively low level, development cooperation has continuously been an important part of the country's foreign policy. The country is a committed advocate of cooperation and solidarity between the countries of the Global South and an increasingly important player on the stage of international politics. Indonesia positions itself as a supporter of multilateralism and a rule-based global order.

The focus of Indonesia’s foreign and development policy, as a regional power in Southeast Asia, is primarily on relations within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its neighbouring countries. In the 1960s and 1970s, Indonesia's development cooperation focused primarily on technical assistance and advice, as well as on the delivery of goods. Later on, the country used its growing economic power to expand its development programs and anchor them institutionally. With the establishment of a uniform development agency Indo-AID at the end of 2019, previous structural deficiencies in Indonesian development cooperation are to be overcome.

As a rising regional power in Southeast Asia, the island state will continue to play an important role in international development cooperation in spite of its limited financial resources and will offer itself as a global partner in solving pressing global development issues.

Read our Monitor Development Policy „Advocate of Developing Countries and Multilateralism“ here as a PDF.