Jakarta, December 10, 2024 — In commemoration of 75 years of diplomatic relations between India and Indonesia, the Indian Embassy in Indonesia, in collaboration with the India-Indonesia Chamber of Commerce (IndCham), organized an event titled “India-Indonesia Investment Synergy Forum: Bridging the Future.” The event took place on Friday, December 6, 2024, at the Borobudur Hotel, Jakarta, and focused on exploring economic and business cooperation opportunities that would benefit both Indonesia and India.
The event commenced with an opening address by the Indian Ambassador to Indonesia, H.E. Sandeep Chakravorty. According to Ambassador Chakravorty, since both countries share similar objectives, it is imperative to establish a strong cooperation between India and Indonesia.
Indian Ambassador to Indonesia, Sandeep Chakravorty, delivering the opening remarks during the India-Indonesia Investment Synergy Forum: Bridging the Future in Jakarta, Friday (December 6, 2024).
“We (India) have embarked for the last ten years at least on a pathway of self-reliance, of making India, of digitizing India, of having a very robust start-up ecosystem, and these are the lessons that we want to share with Indonesia.” he stated during the opening of the forum.
The event continued with the opening remarks for the first panel discussion by Tirta Nugraha Mursitama, Deputy of Investment Cooperation at the Ministry of Investment and the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board. The first panel discussion, themed “Building Bridges Between ‘Make in India’ and ‘Make in Indonesia,'” was moderated by M. Taufiqurrahman, Editor-in-Chief of The Jakarta Post.
Panelists for the first discussion included Shinta W. Kamdani, Chairperson of APINDO; Bambang Susantono, former Vice President of ADB; Raja Singh Khurana, Vice President of Invest India; Hemant Kabra, Director of RR Global; and Vikram Sinha, CEO of Indosat Ooredoo.
In her presentation focusing on collaboration for sustainable future growth, Shinta W. Kamdani stated, “Indonesia and India can tap into this opportunity by ensuring trade and investment openness and collaboration to each other in various sectors,”
“I think overshadowing all of this is going to be the geopolitical competition that we can expect to be going to be more competitive, and I think that also offers opportunity for Indonesia and India to sort of diversify its supply chain.” she continued, emphasizing the importance of economic cooperation between the two nations.
In line with Shinta W. Kamdani’s viewpoint, former ADB Vice President Bambang Susantono also discussed collaboration opportunities between Indonesia and India, particularly in addressing three major issues: the environment, digital technology, and urbanization.
Bambang Susantono, former ADB Vice President, during his presentation at the “India-Indonesia Investment Synergy Forum: Bridging the Future” in Jakarta, Friday (December 6, 2024).
Bambang noted that collaboration between Indonesia and India holds great potential in addressing green megatrends (sustainability), technology, and urbanization. “those are the three megatrends that I believe now is happening. Yeah, it’s not going to happen, but it’s not happening right now. There’s many areas that you can think of to be operation and collaborations.” he explained regarding the potential for partnership between Indonesia and India.
Raja Singh Khurana, Vice President of Invest India, continued the discussion by stating that India’s economy has now doubled compared to ten years ago.
“If you look at the Indian economy, we are today a $4 trillion economy. We are the fifth largest in the world, knocking on the doors of Japan to become the third largest in the next few years. When you look at the Indian economy from a historical perspective, we were a $2 trillion economy about 10 years back.” he continued.
According to Raja, India’s rapid economic growth is attributed to factors such as infrastructure development, investment, and consumption. Given that Indonesia is also focused on infrastructure development, Raja emphasized the importance of strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries.
Vikram Sinha, CEO of Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, expressed confidence in Indonesia’s great potential. According to him, Indonesia possesses extraordinary strengths, both in terms of natural resources and a young, dynamic workforce that can drive its economy. “Indonesia has everything, you heard it. It has power, it has natural resources and it also has a young talent, we just need to invest on it” he said.
Vikram Sinha, CEO of Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, during his presentation at the “India-Indonesia Investment Synergy Forum: Bridging the Future” in Jakarta, Friday (December 6, 2024).
This confidence is reinforced by Indonesia’s consistent GDP growth of 5% in recent years. Vikram added that President Prabowo’s mandate to achieve 8% GDP growth is both a challenge and an opportunity to further empower Indonesia. “The mandate which Prabowo has given for 8% GDP growth, this is a well-researched report which Indosat had released as part of our mandate for empowering Indonesia” Vikram Sinha explained on Friday (December 6, 2024).
Hemant Kabra, Director of RR Global, at the “India-Indonesia Investment Synergy Forum: Bridging the Future” in Jakarta, Friday (December 6, 2024).
The subsequent discussion by Hemant Kabra, Director of RR Global, highlighted the potential for collaboration between Indonesia and India in the manufacturing and technology sectors, particularly in the Electric Vehicle (EV) industry. Hemant explained that Indonesia, with its similar climate to India, offers excellent opportunities for EV development.
“In EV, the most important thing is the temperature. I am sure Indonesia or even Southeast Asia, most of the country are hot countries, similar is India.” Hemant explained, noting that climatic conditions can impact electric vehicle performance. Furthermore, he emphasized that the similarity in temperature and user behavior in both countries presents significant opportunities for collaboration, especially in electric vehicle production and development. “So Indonesia or Southeast Asia is pretty much similar to what India is today in terms of user behavior and in terms of the temperature” Hemant explained, revealing the strong potential for cooperation between the two countries in the EV manufacturing sector.
In conclusion, the speakers and participants of the “India-Indonesia Investment Synergy Forum: Bridging the Future” agreed that collaboration between Indonesia and India holds immense potential to drive sustainable economic growth in both countries. By focusing on key sectors such as manufacturing, technology, electric vehicles, and infrastructure, both nations can support each other in addressing increasingly complex global challenges. Through forums like this, it is hoped that closer relationships can be established, paving the way for a brighter future for both countries on the global stage.