The following is attributable to USAID Spokesperson Rebecca Chalif:
On August 4, 2021, Counselor Chris Milligan met with Retno Marsudi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia where they discussed COVID-19, and USAID-Government of Indonesia partnership on development and regional issues, including: climate change and green economic recovery, the urgency for returning democracy to Burma, women’s empowerment and inclusion, and anticorruption.
Counselor Milligan began by recognizing the substantial loss of life due to the COVID-19 pandemic during this difficult time for Indonesia. He also reiterated National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s announcement on Monday that USAID will provide an additional $30 million in life-saving COVID-19 assistance for Indonesia to enhance vaccine rollout by supporting a robust cold chain for distribution, vaccination facilities readiness, and dissemination of health information to educate citizens to reduce vaccine hesitancy. The assistance will also purchase additional oxygen, collaborate on ways to boost local oxygen production, and provide much needed medical supplies to treat COVID-19 patients and save lives.
This support from the American Rescue Plan Act brings the total U.S. COVID-19 assistance to Indonesia to nearly $65 million since the start of the pandemic. USAID’s COVID-19 support has reached 165 million people in Indonesia since January 2020 -- 60 percent of the country’s population. USAID has helped approximately 43,000 frontline healthcare workers and strengthened more than 1,300 hospitals and clinics, and delivered 16 million doses of vaccines so far to help save lives and end the pandemic. Over the past 20 years, USAID has invested over $1 billion into Indonesia’s health sector, building a strong foundation for a more effective COVID-19 response.
In addition to COVID-19, Counselor Milligan and Foreign Minister Retno discussed USAID and Government of Indonesia partnerships on a number of international and bilateral issues. They discussed continued partnership in Southeast Asia, during which Counselor Milligan reiterated U.S. support for Indonesia’s leadership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). They also discussed the welcome news of the official appointment by ASEAN of Brunei's second minister for foreign affairs, Erywan Yusof, as the Special Envoy to Burma, a critical step toward accelerating implementation of ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus on Burma. Minister Retno Marsudi thanked the United States for supporting the values of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, and requested continued engagement by the United States to work with Indonesia on putting these values into concrete action.
Counselor Milligan and Minster Retno Marsudi discussed the multitude of opportunities for USAID to partner with the Government of Indonesia as Indonesia takes on the presidency of the G20 and the role of US-ASEAN Country Coordinator for 2021-2024. Minister Retno outlined her vision for US-ASEAN coordination priorities in the areas of health cooperation and health resiliency for the region; maritime, connectivity, sustainable development, trade and economy; and women, peace and security. Counselor Milligan and Minster Retno Marsudi agreed on the importance of working together on climate change and clean infrastructure investment, continued partnership on bilateral and international women empowerment and inclusion initiatives, support for anti-corruption initiatives and program implementation at the sub-national level, and continued partnership between USAID and Indonesia.