Influential United States legislators are upbeat over the prospects of stronger economic cooperation between their country and Indonesia, especially on trade and investment, amid steady economic growth and a stable political situation in the archipelago.
AmCham Indonesia and the US-Indonesia Society (USINDO) hosted an exclusive lunch meeting in Jakarta on August 1 for a delegation of American legislators, who spent a few hours in conversation with Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan, Minister of Communications and Informatics Rudiantara and BKPM Chairman Thomas Lembong.
The delegation, led by David E. Price, Democratic representative for North Carolina's fourth congressional district, and co-chair Vern Buchanan, a Republican from of Florida's 16th congressional district, also attended a special luncheon hosted by AmCham Indonesia and the United States-Indonesia Society (Usindo) at the Fairmont Hotel.
Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan, Communication and Information Technology Minister Rudiantara, Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) chief Tom Lembong and US Ambassador Joseph R. Donovan participated in a discussion during the event, held at Fairmont Hotel in South Jakarta.
"The Indonesian economy, as we just heard during this luncheon, is opening up in promising ways. We are impressed by the statistics. We know it can be better," Price told the Jakarta Globe on the sidelines.
"One of the ways to make it better, is to encourage US investment and to encourage robust trade between our countries. We see lots of positive development here and we see opportunity for our country too, for our future cooperation," he added.
Human resources development
Luhut, who delivered the keynote address, updated the US delegation on the government's current economic policies. He told the lawmakers that President Joko Widodo, who was re-elected in April, would likely embark on massive human resources development in his second term.
"Human capital is the president's next target. We cannot only focus on infrastructure. We must also focus on human capital, because it is a major issue for the country," the minister said.
He added that this had prompted the government to make a regulation allowing huge taxcuts for companies investing in vocational education and research and development.
Indonesia has long sought to reduce its dependence on resource extraction. Jokowi, who during his first term ramped up state spending on the country's ailing infrastructure, has made a similar statement, saying that human resources would be Indonesia's next focus, as the country seeks to become more competitive.
Luhut said he believes the United States and Indonesia are already on track for stronger cooperation and partnerships.
"The US and Indonesia share the same views on openness, fair competition and innovation as the foundation of a vibrant democracy," he said. "The US and Indonesia both have large, diverse populations and the two countries have made deep commitments to pluralism and tolerance."
"We have yet to explore the full potential of our relationship," he added.
Luhut delivered the keynote speech at the luncheon, updating the US delegation on current Indonesian economic policies. The American legislators later shared their views on the Indonesian economy and business conditions.
The US delegation was led by Democratic Congressman David Price from North Carolina's 4th congressional district and co-chair Vern Buchanan, a Republican from Florida's 16th congressional district.
The other legislators were Congresswoman Susan Davis and Congressmen Gerry Connolly, Neal Dunn and John Rutherford.
While in Indonesia, the delegation met with cabinet ministers, government officials and business leaders on issues ranging from parliamentary cooperation to security and trade and investment.
The members of the delegation are all active in the House Democracy Partnership, which is co-chaired by Price and Buchanan.
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