Posted in: Foreign Policy

On 2 May 2024, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) presented Airlangga Hartarto, the Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, with a roadmap to guide accession discussions with Indonesia. The OECD review could have a big impact on Indonesia’s political and economic system. So what’s in it for Indonesia?

For national elites, China is now widely seen as a providential partner whose capital and technology are pivotal for a development agenda centred on infrastructure, digitalisation and downstreaming activities. But while Chinese funding has helped Indonesia rise up the value chain, it is clear this comes at a high cost to local people and the natural environment.

Formal diplomatic relations do not exist between Israel and Indonesia so direct interactions between these two peoples are rare. Yet as Indonesia’s expanding middle classes enjoy greater access to international travel, Muslim and Christian Indonesians are increasingly visiting the holy land. Have these encounters shifted the perceptions of these pilgrims about the conflict Israel-Palestine conflict? Jemma Purdey explores this question with anthropologist Mirjam Lücking.