RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - The Minister of Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia, Raja Juli Antoni, held a meeting with the Executive Director of the Asia Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO), Park Chongho, in Seoul, South Korea, on Wednesday, 1 April 2026. The meeting was aimed at strengthening strategic cooperation in the forestry sector, particularly in the development of carbon projects, land rehabilitation, and community empowerment.

As quoted by the official website kehutanan.go.id, the meeting is a green diplomacy effort as part of President Prabowo Subianto's state visit series to strengthen bilateral relations between Indonesia and the Republic of Korea, particularly in promoting strategic cooperation in the forestry sector, including international cooperation organizations based in Korea.

In the meeting, AFoCO expressed appreciation for Indonesia's active role as a member since 2019. Indonesia's membership is considered to have made a significant contribution in enhancing the profile of Indonesia's forestry sector at the regional level and serves as an effective means to advocate for sustainable forestry development.

The Executive Director of AFoCO emphasized the great opportunities for future cooperation, particularly in the development of carbon projects in Indonesia. "This potential includes Social Forestry areas, National Parks, and concession areas that require support in the preparation of projects and carbon certification documents," Park Chongho said.

AFoCO also conveyed that its organization has obtained accredited entity status with the Green Climate Fund, thereby opening broader opportunities for Indonesia to access international funding for the development of sustainable forestry projects. Additionally, AFoCO has currently received funding support from Rabobank for the development of agroforestry carbon projects in the Asia-Pacific region, which is expected to be replicated in Indonesia.

In response to this, the Minister of Forestry reaffirmed Indonesia's commitment to continue actively contributing to the development of AFoCO, in line with Indonesia's position as the country with the largest tropical forests in Asia.

"The Ministry of Forestry is committed to strengthening cooperation with AFoCO in promoting sustainable forest management, including thru the development of carbon projects that provide both ecological and economic benefits to the community," Raja Juli stated.

As a concrete step, the Minister of Forestry proposed institutional strengthening thru the placement of a Permanent Representative from the Ministry of Forestry at the AFoCO headquarters to enhance the effectiveness of coordination and communication between agencies.