May 10-11, 2023 | UCLG ASPAC was invited by the Open Government Indonesia in celebrating Open Government Week, an event organised virtually to promote open governance and involve various stakeholders to collaborate and actively participate in the administration of local governance. UCLG ASPAC was invited in its capacity as a local government association that highly promotes cooperation within its working area, the Asia-Pacific region. To support this, UCLG ASPAC collaborated with the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), and the local government of Surabaya and organised a two-day-virtual-training taking the theme “Diplomacy Training, Regional and International Cooperation for Local Development”. The training was attended by 39 local government representatives including UCLG ASPAC members.
Aiming to raise the awareness of local governments and instigate steps to conduct strong regional and international cooperation, the webinar involved distinguished figures at national level that shared valuable insights on the importance and benefits of regional and international cooperation at the city and country level.
Mr. Priyanto Rohmatullah, Director of the State Apparatus and Bureaucratic Transformation of the Ministry of National Development Planning of Indonesia mentioned that local governments can find alternate forms of funding through the practice of international cooperation. This is also to encourage collaborative governance and develop adaptive regulations to attain the Indonesia Emas 2025 Plan.
Mr. Rico Estrada, expert from the Cooperation Facilitation Centre of the Ministry of Home Affairs of Indonesia, presented various concepts of cooperation. According to him, the urgency of regional cooperation covers the need to strengthen inter-regional relations, increase investment to deliver public services, and eventually improve public welfare. In this case, the role of central government is strongly needed, the governor as the representative of central government is responsible to foster and supervise the process of the development of cooperation with partners. Mr. Rico Estrada further emphasised that it is necessary for each region to identify and map out their own potentials so that the established cooperation will align with the needs.
Mr. Wisnu Utomo, Director of Foreign Policy and International Development Cooperation, Ministry of National Development Planning, highlighted the relevance of international cooperation and its importance to support national resilience and strengthen Indonesia’s leadership.
Mr. Sidharta Praditya Revienda Putra, Head of Legal and Cooperation Section of Surabaya, shared good practice and challenges in developing international cooperation. Local government of Surabaya has collaborated with many countries such as Japan, Australia, and Republic of Korea. Challenges faced include dissimilarity between national and/or regional regulations and partners, limited authority of local government in the implementation of technical cooperation, dispute settlement mechanism, and global issues.
The webinar facilitated the capacity development of local governments through knowledge sharing on the Role of Local Governments in Developing International Cooperation and Monitoring and Evaluation of the Effectiveness of International Cooperation, Development of International Cooperation to Encourage Achievement of SDGs in the Regions, Stages of Foreign Cooperation for Local Governments and MoU Preparation Techniques and Reporting on International Cooperation, and enriched with the Experience of Local Government of Surabaya in Conducting Foreign Cooperation. There were also some interactive sessions using mentimeter and roleplay to model a successful international cooperation.
UCLG ASPAC thanks the Open Government of Indonesia, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) for the great collaboration. We are looking forward to more fruitful cooperations in the future.
