Italy Donates Aircraft Carrier to Indonesia, Becomes KRI Sriwijaya

The Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Navy (KSAL) Admiral Muhammad Ali revealed the reason why the Italian Government donated the Giuseppe Garibaldi aircraft carrier to Indonesia, which has now been officially commissioned as the KRI Sriwijaya-100. According to Muhammad Ali, the grant of the aircraft carrier is inseparable from the good relations and closeness established between Indonesia and Italy, especially in the defense and military fields. "Italy considers that we have a very good relationship and the emotion is quite strong, finally the aircraft carrier was donated to Indonesia," said Ali after attending the naming ceremony and raising the Red and White flag on the KRI Sriwijaya-100 at Tanjung Priok Port, North Jakarta, Thursday (24/9). Ali explained that there are several factors that have made the relationship between Indonesia and Italy harmonious. One of them is the intensity of cooperation between the TNI and the Italian military through various activities, ranging from defense diplomacy meetings to joint military exercises. In addition, the Indonesian Ministry of Defense has also used a number of main weapons system (alutsista) products from Italy. "We have also used many Italian products, yes, helicopters and frigates in the past," said Ali. Grant for Main Ship to Strengthen the Defense Industry According to Ali, various Indonesian-Italian defense cooperation not only strengthens the relationship between the two countries but also provides benefits for the development of the domestic defense industry. One of the forms of cooperation was carried out by PT Penataran Angkatan Laut (PAL) Indonesia with an Italian defense company, Fincantieri, in the process of updating the technology of KRI Sriwijaya-100. The cooperation opens up opportunities for transfer of technology (ToT) from Italy to the Indonesian defense industry. With the transfer of technology, the ability of the domestic defense industry is expected to grow, including in the mastery of technology to support warship operations. KRI Sriwijaya-100 is an Italian Grant Previously, the Head of the Defense Public Relations and Information Bureau (Karo Humas Infohan) of the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Defense, Brigadier General TNI Rico Ricardo Sirait, said Indonesia received the aircraft carrier through a grant scheme from the Italian Government. The ship, which was previously named Giuseppe Garibaldi, was built by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri and was once used to strengthen the Italian Navy. However, Rico emphasized that the status of the grant does not mean that Indonesia does not issue any budget at all. The Indonesian government continues to prepare a budget for the needs of retrofit or adjustment of ships to meet the operational needs of the Indonesian Navy. "Giuseppe Garibaldi is a grant from the Italian Government. The budget prepared by the Indonesian government is allocated for the needs of retrofit or adjustment to meet the needs of the Indonesian Navy operations," said Rico. Thus, the receipt of KRI Sriwijaya-100 through a grant from the Italian Government is part of the defense cooperation between the two countries, as well as opening up opportunities for improving the capabilities of the national defense industry through technology cooperation and ship retrofitting.