President Prabowo Subianto, who is on an international roadshow to the United States, invites the business community in the world’s largest economy, to support Indonesia’s development programs.
Prabowo and his entourage attended a meeting with corporate members of the United States-Indonesia Society (USINDO) in Washington D.C. on Monday, November 11, 2024, the second day of his visit to the U.S.
In the meeting, President Prabowo expressed the importance of support from U.S. companies in encouraging Indonesia’s economic growth. He presented government priorities that are focusing on sustainable economic development, food resilience and investment in the energy sector, as well as infrastructure and education.
He also emphasized Indonesia’s commitment to create friendly and conducive investment climate for international partners, mainly the U.S. companies.
“Yes, I am happy meeting with U.S, and world’s biggest companies. They have been deeply involved with Indonesian economy and development. They have been working in Indonesia for a long time and continue to trust Indonesia, trust the Indonesian economy. I also encourage them to invest in Indonesia, participate in our development plan,“ Prabowo said as quoted in a statement on Thursday, November 14, 2024.
Minister of Investment and Downstream/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Rosan Perkasa Roeslani, who accompanied the Indonesia president in the meeting, reiterated that Indonesia welcome investment from the U.S. in various sectors such as energy, technology, health, education, and infrastructures.
“We have the commitment to fully support investors from the U.S. who want to contribute for Indonesia’s development. The Indonesian government emphasizes the importance of sustainability in invesment, such as paying attention to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and its social impact to local community,” Rosan said.
Present in the meeting with USINDO were 12 leaders of U.S. big companies that have been been investing or have interest to invest in Indonesia.
Former U.S. Deputy Ambassador to Indonesia, Ted Osius, appreciated President Prabowo’s speech and expressed his interest to deepen collaboration to achieve green economic objective and net zero emission in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, several companies have stated their commitment to support the Indonesian government’s geothermal and carbon storage projects.
“In December, I will bring a delegation of U.S. businessmen to Indonesia to explore business opportunities. The companies come from various sectors, including energy, information technology, health, infrastructure, education, retail and finance. Indonesia has grown rapidly with huge opportunities on offer and it is clear we are welcomed in Indonesia,” Ted Osius said.
In addition to Rosan, also accompanying Prabowo in the meeting were Minister of Foreign Affairs Sugiono, Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology Stella Christie, Chargé d’Affaires Ad-Interim of the Indonesian Embassy in Washington D.C. Ida Bagus Made Bimantara and Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya.
The companies that participated in the meeting were Freeport McMoRan, S&P Global, GE Healthcare, Boeing, Capital Group, BP, ExxonMobil, Citi, Caterpillar, Chevron, Georgetown University Indonesia Program, and Purdue University.
Based on BKPM data from 2019-Q3 2024, the realization of U.S. investment in Indonesia was recorded at US$13.41 trillion. The three largest sectors are mining (73.02 percent), other services (11.93 percent), and basic metal industry, metal goods, non-machinery and equipment (4.09 percent).
