Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – The Ministry of State Secretariat and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Indonesia have initiated a new cooperation platform called South-South Triangular Cooperation on Renewable Energy (SSTC RE).

The formation of the platform was held virtually on Thursday (March 4), and participated in by delegations from Afghanistan, Madagascar, Nepal and Germany.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources’ spokesperson, Agung Pribadi, explained that the SSTC RE cooperation would be a good opportunity for the five countries to discuss the development and promotion of renewable energy.

Successes and best practices in one country could be shared with others, while barriers could be overcome collectively with innovative solutions, he added.

The SSTC RE which was expected to run from March 2021 to March 2023 will cover several strategic areas of renewable energy, including mini grid, off grid, and utilization of renewable energy for the non-electricity sectors, along with cross-sectoral approaches such as Public Private Partnership, and gender mainstreaming in renewable energy.

"In addition to strengthening the capacity of renewable energy players in Indonesia, we hope that in the future Indonesia can send its experts abroad to increase the capacity of SSTC partner countries," Agung said.

According to him, SSTC is a cooperation on the exchange of resources, technology and knowledges among developing countries which are also known as Global South countries, while triangular refers to the support of development partners.

This year Indonesia will hold a training and exchange of information in the field of renewable energy virtually, under a theme Rural Electrification through Micro hydro and Solar PV, as well as a training on biofuels.

Reporting by Indonesia Window