Shoeb Kagda is the founder of the Indonesian Economic Forum, and knows very well what it Indonesia's long-term challenge: passing from being a lower-income economy to a middle-income economy.
The country needs structural reforms, and Jokowi, elected for his second term, pledged for deep structural reforms, especially in the job market. The country, however, not only needs the political will of his leader, it needs capitals to modernize the infrastructures and its digital and telecommunication network.

European capitals may play an important role in Indonesia, but there are still some hurdles. In fact, European money and trade deals usually come with ethical and moral standards to be met before the deal is made. Shoeb is right in saying that this is a complete “non-starter”. The palm oil issue is, sadly, the best example of how dysfunctional is the relationship between the EU and Indonesia.