Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) asked France's support for Indonesia's application to become a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) during a bilateral meeting with President Emmanuel Macron in India on Saturday.

In a statement released on Sunday, Jokowi noted that becoming a member of the OECD is Indonesia's effort to become a developed country.

"We have carried out various economic reforms in line with OECD requirements," he said.

In this regard, he asked Macron to share his experiences of working as an OECD member and how to optimize the benefits of membership.

During the meeting, which was held on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, Jokowi also expressed appreciation for France's investment in Indonesia's strategic sectors.

"I am grateful to the French Ambassador to Indonesia for bringing prospective French investors to the new capital city of Nusantara (IKN), which has resulted in four letters of intent (LOIs) to support the development of IKN," he stated.

He also asked France to materialize its commitment to energy transition project in Indonesia, including through the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) scheme.

At Saturday's meeting, Jokowi also said that France has shown flexibility in its position against the blasphemy of religious symbols and the holy book in the concept of the G20 declaration.

He noted that the issue is a very important issue for Indonesians and underlined that the blasphemy acts hurt Muslims' feelings and cannot be accepted.

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Translator: Rangga Pandu, Raka Adji
Editor: Anton Santoso
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