Enviro News Asia, New York — Indonesia’s Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni held a bilateral meeting with Zhimin Wu, Assistant Director-General and Director of the Forestry Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization, at the Indonesian Lounge, United Nations Headquarters in New York, United States, on Tuesday (12/5/2026).
The bilateral meeting formed part of President Prabowo Subianto’s directive to strengthen international cooperation in sustainable forest management, carbon governance, and the contribution of the forestry sector to the global green economy.
During the meeting, Zhimin Wu stated that Indonesia’s forestry sector is FAO’s most strategic partner in the world. He also expressed appreciation for the achievements and progress made by Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry, describing them as an important example for the global forestry community.
FAO further praised Indonesia’s successful role as co-host of the Global Forest Observations Initiative (GFOI) 2025 held in Bali in October 2025. The event was recognized as an important platform that brought together the international forestry community to strengthen collaboration and exchange expertise on forest monitoring systems.
In addition, FAO acknowledged Indonesia’s significant progress in developing carbon economic value policies and encouraged the advancement of a forest carbon credit and carbon market roadmap as part of strengthening national and global forestry carbon governance.
FAO also invited Indonesia’s Minister of Forestry to attend the 28th Session of the Committee on Forestry (COFO28), which will take place in Rome, Italy, from 28 September to 2 October 2026.
Minister Raja Juli Antoni expressed appreciation for the ongoing collaboration between Indonesia and FAO in supporting sustainable forest management. He also emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperation in developing national forest monitoring systems, REDD+, and forestry carbon governance.
Furthermore, the Minister highlighted opportunities for collaboration in social forestry development and forest-based food and energy commodities as part of efforts to strengthen sustainable food and energy security.
The Minister also announced Indonesia’s plan to launch The State of Indonesia’s Forests (SOIFO) 2026 during COFO28 in Rome. The publication is expected to serve as a global reference on Indonesia’s forest management progress, including forest rehabilitation policies, climate change mitigation, social forestry, and carbon governance.
The bilateral meeting further reinforced Indonesia’s position as one of the world’s leading countries in sustainable tropical forest management and climate-based forestry policy development, in line with the national development vision under President Prabowo Subianto’s administration. (*)
