US-ASEAN Business Council Delegation to Indonesia Reaffirms Support for Advancing Indonesia’s Digital Economy
(Jakarta, Indonesia) From August 27 to 28, 2024, the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) organized a Digital Economy Mission to Indonesia. As Indonesia prepares to undergo a significant government transition, the Mission served as a timely opportunity for members to meet with key working-level officials, reaffirming U.S. industry support for Indonesia’s dynamic digital transformation journey. The delegation was comprised of 13 companies and was co-led by Amb. Brian McFeeters (ret.), Senior Vice President and Regional Managing Director of USABC, and Mr. Seow Hiong Goh, Executive Director of Global Policy & Government Affairs in the Asia Pacific region for Cisco Systems, Inc. and Chair of USABC’s ICT Committee.
The engagement served as a critical platform to foster public-private dialogue on a range of digital issues, including best practices and opportunities related to cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, cloud regulation, and data governance.
The Mission started with a meeting with U.S. Counselor for Economic Affairs John Habjan of the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, followed by eight productive bilateral engagements with the Ministry of Communications and Informatics (KOMINFO) and other important government stakeholders. Throughout the Mission, the delegation met with the following senior officials: KOMINFO Vice Minister Nezar Patria alongside Secretary-General Mira Tayyiba and Director-General Hokky Situngkir of Informatics and Applications (APTIKA); Directorate Secretary Indra Maulana of Postal and Informatics Operations (PPI); Director General Dr. Ir. Ismail, MT of Resources and Equipment of Post and Information Technology (SDPPI); Ministry of Industry Director General Putu Juli of Metal, Machinery, Transportation Equipment and Electronics Industry (ILMATE); Coordinating Ministry of Economic Affairs (CMEA) Senior Advisor of Connectivity, Service Sector, and Natural Resource and Acting Deputy IV Dr. Musdhalifa Machmud; Financial Services Authority (OJK) Chief Executive Supervisor Hasan Fawzi of Financial Sector Technology Innovation, Digital Financial Assets and Crypto Assets and Member of the Board of Commissioners; and Bank Indonesia Director Ryan Rizaldy of the Payment Systems Policy Department.
“Indonesia’s digital economy is projected to quadruple by 2030,” said Amb. Brian McFeeters (ret.), USABC Senior Vice President and Regional Managing Director. “Our members recognize the incredible amount of opportunity in Indonesia and stand ready to be a trusted resource and partner for the government.”
“Public-private partnerships are crucial as Indonesia charts significant growth in its digital economy. We value the opportunity to have a candid discussion with various officials around areas that will help boost Indonesia’s competitiveness and regulatory environment and sustain the growth of the digital economy,” said Mr. Seow Hiong Goh, Executive Director of Global Policy & Government Affairs in the Asia Pacific region for Cisco Systems, Inc. and Chair of USABC's ICT Committee. “We look forward to continuing these dialogues with the Indonesian government to help the country succeed.”
Companies participating in the mission included Cisco, Amazon Web Services, Meta, Qualcomm, Akamai Technologies, American Express, Apple, BowerGroupAsia, IBM, Salesforce, SAP, and UltraPass Identity Corp.