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JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo has finalized a deal to include financial hub Dubai in the new Nusantara capital project during his trip to the United Arab Emirates, his office said on Thursday.

Widodo arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday for a two-day working visit and was received by the Gulf state’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.

The two countries agreed on “significant bilateral cooperation in various sectors,” said a statement from the Indonesian Cabinet Secretariat. The Secretariat listed eight agreements signed during the trip, including in the areas of renewable energy, tourism ecosystems, payment systems and the “MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) between the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority and the Nusantara National Capital Authority.”

Southeast Asia’s largest economy is moving its capital to the island of Borneo to replace the overcrowded and sinking Jakarta on the island of Java. The $33 billion megaproject is scheduled for completion in 2045.

The mammoth project is expected to rely largely on private investors; the public sector is expected to finance 20 percent of the total expenditure.

“In the area of ​​strategic investments, the UEA’s contribution to the development of the Indonesian capital is becoming increasingly significant,” Widodo said at X.

While construction is already underway and the central government is expected to begin operations in the new city in 2024, the new capital has already started work on its financial hub, where Indonesia’s largest state-owned banks – Bank Mandiri, Bank Rakyat Indonesia and Bank Negara Indonesia – broke ground on their new corporate headquarters earlier this year.

The financial center will span 260 hectares within the city’s expanded business district.

Through the memorandum of understanding between the Dubai International Financial Centre and the Nusantara Capital City Authority, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates are “creating a new framework to ultimately expand the two financial ecosystems,” said DIFC Governor Essa Kazim, the United Arab Emirates’ state news agency reported on Thursday.

“As the UAE and Indonesia collaborate and innovate to drive economic growth and social impact in both countries, DIFC, as the leading global financial centre in MEASA (Middle East, Africa and South Asia), is perfectly positioned to create significant opportunities through this strategic partnership,” he said.

The ambitious move to move the capital from Jakarta, about 2,000 kilometers away, into the middle of a forest is a flagship project for Widodo, which the company officially launched in 2019.

Completion of the first phase of construction is scheduled for 2024. This is widely seen as an attempt by the president to seal his legacy before the end of his second and final term in October of this year.

During the trip to the UAE, Sheikh Mohamed Widodo presented the Order of Zayed for his efforts in strengthening relations between the UAE and Indonesia.

The order is the highest civilian award in the UAE and is awarded to leaders and heads of state.

During Widodo’s second term, the countries signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement in July 2022 – Indonesia’s first free trade agreement with a Middle Eastern country.

“Building on the close and enduring relations between the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia, we have explored ways to further enhance our economic partnership,” Sheikh Mohamed said at X.

“I would like to sincerely thank President Widodo for his tireless efforts during his tenure in strengthening the ties between our two nations.”