JAKARTA / WASHINGTON, D.C. – As economic recovery becomes a reality despite the persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. private sector and Indonesian government met for the annual U.S.-Indonesia Investment Summit under the theme of “Moving On: Getting Past COVID.” The 9th annual Summit convened high-level U.S. and Indonesian government officials and private sector business leaders and included virtual and hybrid sessions across three days on December 13th, 14th, and 15th.
Hosted by AmCham Indonesia and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the summit examined the current business climate in Indonesia, industry adjustments to COVID-19, the Indonesian government’s economic recovery efforts, supply chain resiliency, Indonesia’s role as G20 president in 2022, corresponding B20 engagements and more.
“The private sector has played an important role in pandemic mitigation and recovery efforts. As we look forward to a more robust economic recovery in 2022, it’s a good time to take stock of the role U.S. companies have played and will play in Indonesia for decades to come,” said A Lin Neumann, Managing Director, AmCham Indonesia.
The summit takes place during a time of optimism as U.S.-Indonesia relations are deepening, with high-level visits and bilateral dialogues accelerating. The U.S. business community has further signaled its commitment to Indonesia through the Global Task Force on Pandemic Response, a public-private partnership providing a unified platform for businesses to mobilize and deliver resources to assist COVID-19 efforts across the globe. Efforts in Indonesia have focused on the provision of critical diagnostic equipment and oxygen supplies.
The Summit came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Indonesia. His policy speech during the visit was livestreamed to the Summit on Tuesday.
“This is such an important time for an enhanced U.S.-Indonesia trade and investment relationship. The two countries are strong partners already, and we’ve seen this amplified during the pandemic. The U.S. Chamber is pleased to play a role in promoting Indonesia’s economic potential for U.S. companies and advocate on behalf of those companies to the Indonesian government on trade barriers, innovation, regulatory transparency, structural reforms, and more,” said Charles Freeman, U.S. Chamber Senior Vice President for Asia.
Featured speakers at this year’s summit included Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment; Airlangga Hartarto, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs; and Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Indonesia’s health minister, who unveiled a road map for reform of the healthcare system through increased foreign investment.
Sung Kim, US Ambassador to Indonesia; and Kurt Campbell, Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific opened the event on behalf of the U.S. government. As part of the Summit, a separate hybrid dinner event was held with Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan; West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil also held a special online session with Summit participants. Both governors are prominently mentioned as possible presidential candidates in 2024.
The summit is the flagship event for Initiative Indonesia, a joint venture between AmCham Indonesia and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and caps a year of programming and advocacy work. Findings from the Initiative’s business missions leading up to the summit focused in particular on healthcare and the information and communications technology sector. These missions and other events help focus the Summit’s agenda.
