Indian Embassy in Jakarta formally relaunches Indian Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia
The Embassy of India in Jakarta formally relaunched the Indian Chamber of Commerce (IndCham) in Indonesia in a formal ceremony on Aug. 2 that was attended by over 150 members of Indian and Indonesian companies, diaspora businesses and professionals from start-ups, banks and global MNCs. IndCham’s relaunch was presided over by the Ambassador of India to Indonesia Shri Sandeep Chakravorty, president director of Indika Energy and Indonesian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (KADIN) chairman Arsjad Rasjid, the head of CII Indonesia and the Governing Council, along with existing and new members of IndCham. The newly invigorated IndCham aims to retell the India-Indonesia business story in their 75 years of diplomatic relationship. Going forward, several activities have been proposed to be held on an annual basis, focusing on priority areas such as trade and investment facilitation, energy transition, health care, innovation/start-ups, education and skill enhancement and digitalization. The relaunch was the realization of the pressing need to revive the business chamber, which was started in 1977 but became dormant over the years during the pandemic, as the profile of India and Indonesia’s economic partnership has substantially risen in the past decade. As ancient maritime neighbors and modern-day comprehensive strategic partners, both large emerging economies enjoy an unprecedented demographic dividend and vibrant democracies with a policy focus on industrialization and ease of doing business, like Atmanirbhar Bharat (Make in India) or downstreaming in Indonesia, leading to their respective visions of 100 years of development, Amrit Kaal 2047 and Indonesia Emas 2045.
Bilateral trade between India and Indonesia in 2022 stood at US$38.8 billion, with Indonesia becoming India’s largest trade partner in ASEAN. Both countries have set a trade target of US$50 billion by 2025. India is the 14th largest investor in Indonesia, with 80 Indian companies having their bases in the country. In addition, 300 diaspora businesses and thousands of professionals, including start-ups, are contributing to the Indonesian growth story.
