East Java Pitches Carbon Trade, Investment to Singapore PM Wong

KBRN, Surabaya: East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa positioned the province as a key partner for Singapore, presenting its carbon trading program and investment opportunities directly to Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

The high-level discussion took place during the Republic of Indonesia + Singapore (RISING) Fellowship meeting at the Istana Sri Temasek in Singapore on Thursday, November 13, 2025.

The talks focused on forging strategic cooperation across multiple sectors, with particular emphasis on sustainable economic initiatives and regional development.

“We are grateful to have been received directly by the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lawrence Wong,” Khofifah said in a statement. “We discussed various strategic matters for East Java’s development, ranging from carbon trade and carbon credits to cooperation in education, health, investment, and other key issues.”

Khofifah underscored the substantial potential for collaboration between East Java and Singapore, stressing that the province is open to investment from the city-state, supported by a conducive investment climate and the administration’s commitment to maintaining economic growth.

“East Java is very ready if Singapore requires collaboration in various areas,” she added, as quoted by Antara.

The governor highlighted that the RISING Fellowship program facilitates training and networking between Singapore and regional Indonesian governments. She noted that the initiative has yielded positive results for East Java, particularly in boosting investment and improving public welfare.

“We feel that the various programs within the RISING Fellowship have been of great benefit to East Java. We are grateful and happy to be received by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at the Istana Sri Temasek,” Khofifah remarked.

Her visit was not limited to the meeting with the prime minister. While in Singapore, Khofifah also engaged with public and private stakeholders to explore further cross-sector collaboration.

East Java is actively leveraging the RISING Fellowship for human capital development. Currently, 32 representatives from the province’s education sector are undergoing training through the program.

“Training for productive high school and vocational school principals and teachers in East Java is currently underway, involving 30 people, plus two others, namely the Head of the East Java Education Agency and the Head of the Malang Education Agency,” she explained.

This training follows an earlier batch sent a week prior, which included hospital directors and the head of the investment agency. “All these programs are also within the framework of the RISING Fellowship,” Khofifah confirmed.

Prime Minister Wong welcomed Khofifah’s visit and expressed optimism about strengthening bilateral cooperation. “We had a good discussion on ways to strengthen cooperation between Singapore and East Java, including on carbon credits, human resource development, and education,” Wong wrote on his Instagram account, @lawrencewongst.

The RISING Fellowship was launched in 2018 by then-Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and then-Indonesian President Joko Widodo. The program aims to reinforce bilateral ties and build leadership networks between Singapore and local administrations across Indonesia. ***