President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr. of Liberia held bilateral talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo on the sidelines of the 2nd Indonesia-Africa Forum in Bali, Indonesia. The discussions centered on enhancing relations between the two nations.
President Boakai expressed gratitude for the invitation to participate in the forum and appreciated the warm reception extended to him and his delegation. The leaders reminisced about their countries' strengthened ties since 2013, marked by mutual visits and the establishment of a Joint Commission to boost cooperation and trade.
Boakai acknowledged Indonesia's significant contributions to Liberia's peace and stability during its civil conflict, particularly through participation in United Nations Peacekeeping Missions and private sector investments. He appealed for continued support from Indonesia, specifically mentioning challenges faced by Indonesian companies operating in Liberia. He highlighted the need for Indonesia to support the expansion of Golden Veroleum Limited (GVL), an Indonesian company in Liberia’s oil palm industry, including establishing a palm oil refinery for value addition.
The Liberian President proposed exchanging Resident Ambassadors between the two countries and revitalizing the Joint Commission. He also invited President Widodo to visit Liberia to further initiatives toward increased collaboration.
In response, President Widodo expressed interest in collaborating on palm oil investment, capacity development, infrastructure development, technical support, training, and scholarship initiatives facilitated through the Indonesian Embassy in Ghana. He invited Liberia to join the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOC) and participate in South-South Tropical Forest Collaboration to leverage Liberia’s forest reserves.
Widodo also showed interest in partnering with Liberia on rice importation to stabilize prices while exploring Public-Private Partnership arrangements to boost local rice production and support its value chain. Additionally, he invited Liberia's participation in the 68th Anniversary of the Asian-African Conference scheduled for 2025.
The meeting concluded with both leaders expressing gratitude and a shared commitment to strengthening ties between their countries.
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