24 May 2024 Nairobi, Kenya – Recognizing the importance of South-South and Triangular Cooperation, Indonesia is increasing its support in the agriculture sector of 14 African countries, namely Angola, Burundi, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.

A capacity building training on climate-smart fisheries will take place this year to reinforce the countries’ knowledge and skills in these practices.  

Indonesia’s first SSC activities can be traced back to the 1980’s, when the Coordinating Committee for International Technical Cooperation (CCITC) was established as the focal point for all of Indonesia’s technical cooperation activities with other developing countries.

Indonesia’s South-South Cooperation has grown exponentially since the early ‘80s, reflecting its strength in a variety of fields, such as fisheries, aquaculture and livestock.

As such, a team from the SSTC division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) met with H.E. the Ambassador of Indonesia for Kenya, Dr. Mohamad Hery Saripudin, at the Embassy of Indonesia in Nairobi, Kenya in April, to discuss potential areas of SSTC joint collaboration.

During the meeting, Dr. Saripudin highlighted Indonesia’s recent South-South Cooperation activities in Kenya and its neighboring countries, in collaboration with the Non-Aligned Movement Centre for South-South and Triangular Cooperation, stating that “Working together is much better than working alone.  We shall work together in pursuit of establishing a pilot cooperation under an Indonesia – Kenya – FAO tripartite arrangement.  Each party can chip in something different and bring them together.  Kenya received the first historic State visit by the Indonesian President Joko Widodo in August 2023 and the relationship between Kenya and Indonesia is strengthened in various sectors more than ever before,”.

The FAO team also presented its recent and on-going activities and both parties confirmed their intent to continue working together on common priorities, such as fisheries, aquaculture and livestock.

“We acknowledge Indonesia’s active engagement in South-South Cooperation.  Indonesia has been playing a critical role in capacity building in different sectors in Kenya and for a number of neighboring African countries.  FAO is ready to cooperate with Indonesia, sharing its experience of pursuing sustainable impacts of capacity building, built on Indonesia’s strong expertise and willingness to support other countries in the Global South in the agriculture sector,” said Mr Kenya Konno, Programme Officer, South-South and Triangular Cooperation Division.

The SSTC FAO team has already initiated brainstorming discussions with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant stakeholders in Indonesia to explore future collaborations.

FAO has been at the forefront of South-South and Triangular Cooperation for more than two decades, bringing together the countries that have development solutions with those that are seeking to apply and adapt them to their own context.