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This Arak Bali diplomacy was carried out by Murdaning Jagat Bali, following Governor Wayan Koster’s presentation at the World Bank Group on “Transforming Transportation,” where he highlighted the philosophical concept of Nangun Sat Kerthi Loka Bali for Transportation Resilience (Smart, Sustainable, and Resilient Transportation). Subsequently, meetings were held with international institutions such as: 1) Laconic Infrastructure Partners; 2) World Resources Institute (WRI); 3) World Bank Group; 4) United States Agency for International Development (USAID); 5) Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC); 6) Bloomberg Philanthropies; 7) Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Washington, D.C.; and 8) Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in New York, where Arak Bali products and Bali’s traditional woven fabric (Kain Tenun Endek) were presented as souvenirs.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), which is a US Congressional institution aimed at strengthening collaboration and supporting funding schemes related to climate change adaptation and strengthening micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), highly appreciates Bali’s development vision, Nangun Sat Kerthi Loka Bali, and admires Governor Wayan Koster’s policy of wearing traditional Balinese attire to the MCC office in Washington, D.C., USA. Governor Koster also took the opportunity to introduce Arak Bali as a unique fermented and/or distilled drink from Bali, which possesses high-quality taste comparable to Soju from Korea, Sake from Japan, and Whiskey from Europe.
Cameron Alford, Vice President of Compact Operations at the U.S. MCC, Jonathan Brooks, Deputy Vice President of Europe, Asia, Pacific, and Latin America, Martha Bowen, Officer for Indonesia, and Amanda Jennings, Managing Director of Portfolio Administration at the MCC, expressed their strong support for Arak Bali in the presence of Governor Wayan Koster. The MCC promises to assist in marketing Arak Bali as a high-quality local product from Bali in the international market, with the hope of positively impacting the strengthening of MSMEs in the province of Bali and improving the welfare of farmers and artisans involved in the production of Arak Bali. The assistance provided by the MCC to Arak Bali is in line with their previous policy of actively facilitating the international recognition and market presence of local Rum from Africa.
Arak Bali is gaining recognition as a unique fermented and/or distilled drink from Bali in the international community. This recognition comes after the efforts of Governor Wayan Koster, who is also the Chairman of the Regional Leadership Board of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) in Bali, to issue: 1) Governor of Bali Regulation No. 1 of 2020 on the Governance of Balinese Fermented and/or Distilled Drinks, enacted on January 29th, 2020; 2) The designation of Arak Bali as an Indonesian Intangible Cultural Heritage with the Certificate from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia No. 3031/F4/KB.09.06/2022, dated October 21st, 2022; 3)
