By Stanley Widianto
JAKARTA, July 22 (Reuters)
Indonesia is tapping into a whole new world of technology. Something that will make it stand out like the rest of the nations pushing the boundaries, for example, Malaysia. Right now, we live in an era and age where AI is making things happen and shifting the narrative, and what better way to include yourself in the new development? Indonesia has seen how other nations, organisations, and companies are growing; therefore, it does not want to miss out on investment and opportunities that could boost its economy in various sectors besides technology. Today, we can see how serious the country is.
Indonesia is ready to walk along the AI path
Indonesia will finish work next month on its first national strategy on artificial intelligence in a bid to attract foreign investment, an official said, as Southeast Asia’s largest economy looks to join the global AI and chip-making race. The move follows neighbouring Malaysia’s push to establish itself as a regional hub for AI development, securing billions of dollars from global tech firms seeking to build critical infrastructure.
This is to meet the growing demand for cloud and AI services. Indonesia’s AI roadmap will be the first comprehensive AI document in the country, the fourth largest in the world by population, since a smaller ethics guideline was released in 2023. Deputy Minister of Communications and Digital Nezar Patria told Reuters in an interview at his office on Monday that,
“The roadmap will help AI developers navigate (Indonesia’s market), including on infrastructure and also on computational clusters. This will give an idea to investors about the potential of AI use in Indonesia,” he said. “We’re hoping they are interested in investing their capital in Indonesia.”
The nation has seen how it can benefit in a more positive way with Artificial Intelligence
Indonesia’s population is more than 270 million. Additionally, it has seen just how fast their economy is growing, evolving and transforming. Particularly, the younger generation with technology and social media is driven by AI. What seemed not to be very important to them once upon a time is now an obligation because the nation has seen how this can benefit their economy in a more positive way.
An April report by Boston Consulting Group said ASEAN nations were positioned for substantial AI-driven gains, with GDP contributions ranging from 2.3% to 3.1% by 2027, and Indonesia projected to see the highest impact in terms of absolute gross domestic product growth. But despite some investments, development has been slow in Indonesia compared to other parts of the region.
A call to invitation for everyone from Indonesia
Nezar said,
“We’re opening up to all global tech companies to get into the industry of AI development in Indonesia.”
Now, this is also an invitation to foreign investors who might be interested. This is attractive because now they know that Indonesia is serious about this initiative and that, come August 2025, everything will be set. Local and international businesses can collaborate, speak the same language and continue to integrate in the name of AI.
Separately, Indonesia is also pitching foreign firms on its critical minerals, which are needed for hardware development, in order to secure a bigger share of the global semiconductor supply chain, he added. Indonesia has offered the United States the chance to jointly invest in a critical minerals project as part of its tariff negotiations. Washington has sought to find alternative suppliers to China, which dominates the sector, but in April added some rare earths to its export restriction list in retaliation for U.S. tariffs. This is a new hope and a fresh start. Who knows? This could change everything.