UK and Indonesia build on solid foundations with new infrastructure initiative
Source: gov.uk (2025-01-20)

Minister for the Indo-Pacific Catherine West visits Indonesia with a focus on green growth, later traveling on to Timor-Leste.

- New partnership to create opportunities for UK firms and support Indonesia’s sustainable development, Indo-Pacific Minister announced on visit to Jakarta
- Visit will advance discussions on a UK-Indonesia Strategic Partnership, with engagements focused on economic growth, climate and digital cooperation
- Minister West will then travel to Timor-Leste to see UK health and education development partnerships in action
Leading British engineering firms are set to benefit from a new UK-Indonesia sustainable infrastructure partnership, announced by Indo-Pacific Minister Catherine West in Jakarta today (20 January).

The initiative will open up new opportunities for companies including Arup, Mott MacDonald and PwC to design and deliver projects in Indonesia, boosting British business while helping Indonesia reach its net zero goals.

As well as providing a platform for investment, the partnership will ensure new projects incorporate environmental best practice to help decarbonise the sector, with infrastructure estimated by the World Economic Forum to account for around 40% of global emissions. It builds on previous wins for UK infrastructure firms in Indonesia, with Mott MacDonald and Crossrail International supporting the design and delivery of Jakarta’s Mass Rapid Transit and Light Rapid Transit railway systems.

The new partnership is an example of the UK and Indonesia’s ambition to deepen mutually beneficial collaboration under a new Strategic Partnership, which Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Prabowo Subianto have agreed to sign in 2025. This will include a formal agreement focused on secure and sustainable economic growth, designed to deliver the UK government’s Plan for Change (https://www.gov.uk/missions) as well as the Indonesian government’s target of 8 percent annual growth.

Climate and nature will also be a focus during the Minister’s three-day visit to Indonesia, following commitments by Prime Minister Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy to restore UK global leadership on climate. She will discuss progress under the UK-Indonesia Just Energy Transition Partnership and launch new Blue Planet Fund and Climate and Ocean Adaptation and Sustainable Transition (COAST) programmes, supporting vulnerable coastal communities to adapt to the impacts of the climate crisis.

Speaking ahead of the visit, Minister West said:

The UK and Indonesia are proving that strong economic growth does not need to come with higher emissions.

Investing in green infrastructure and the energy transition is not just vital for our planet - it will make sure our economies are fit for the future.

And our new Strategic Partnership will enable us to do even more together for the security and prosperity of our people.

While in Jakarta, the Minister will agree a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Minister for Digital Communications Meutya Hafid, which will provide a foundation for increased cooperation on areas from emerging technologies and AI to combating online disinformation. She will also meet permanent representatives to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as the UK enters its fourth year as an ASEAN Dialogue Partner.

The Minister will then travel to Timor-Leste, reaffirming UK support for the country’s application to join ASEAN. While there she will see how climate, health and education programmes are supporting stable, long-term development in partnership with communities in Timor-Leste, as well as discuss issues of regional and global security including combating irregular migration.

Notes to editors
- The UK government-supported infrastructure partnership, known as “MELAJU”, will increase cooperation across four areas: policy and regulatory development; project development and delivery; finance and investment mobilisation; and collaboration and partnership. In addition to supporting new commercial opportunities it will deliver technical and development assistance worth £26 million through the UK’s Future Cities Infrastructure Programme (FCIP) and the Green Cities and Infrastructure Programme (GCIP).
- The Blue Planet Fund Indonesia Country Plan, with the twin aims of protecting coastal environments and reducing poverty;
- Climate and Ocean Adaptation and Sustainable Transition (COAST) Programme Indonesia, part of the wider Blue Planet Fund, which will provide technical support and project funding worth £18m to protect ocean habitats and resources including promoting sustainable fishing.
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