Innoprom 2026 in Yekaterinburg, Russia, has become a new showcase for\nIndonesia\u2019s strategy of shifting trade relations towards investment,\ndownstream processing and technology transfer with Eurasia. The next\nchallenge is ensuring that a string of agreements turns into real\nprojects.<\/p>\n
The four days of Innoprom 2026 (6\u20139 July) amounted to more than just\nan industrial exhibition for Indonesia. As the official partner country,\nIndonesia used the forum to shift the orientation of its economic\nrelations with the Eurasian region from commodity trade towards deeper\nindustrial partnerships, encompassing investment, industrial estate\ndevelopment, downstream processing and technology transfer.<\/p>\n
At the international industrial exhibition, the Ministry of Industry\nbrought the New National Industrialisation Strategy (SBIN) as the\nframework for long-term industrial development, while offering\ninvestment-ready industrial estates.<\/p>\n
Key points of the SBIN include strengthening manufacturing based on\nthe added value of natural resources, accelerating technological mastery\nthrough Making Indonesia 4.0, developing green industry and improving\nthe quality of the industrial workforce.<\/p>\n
The results were visible in the signing of at least 13 memoranda of\nunderstanding (MoUs), eight bilateral meetings held with the Russian\ngovernment and Central Asian countries, and various business forums\nbringing together Indonesian industry players with prospective Eurasian\ninvestors.<\/p>\n
The 13 MoUs include agreements between the Indonesian Ministry of\nIndustry and the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, as well as\ncooperation with Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and the regions of Chelyabinsk,\nKirov and Sverdlovsk.<\/p>\n
The MoUs, bilateral meetings and meetings between industry players\ndemonstrate that Indonesian industry has strong competitiveness.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndonesia\u2019s participation as partner country at Innoprom 2026 has\nstrengthened the position of national industry in the Eurasian market.\nThis can be seen from the high enthusiasm of industry players from the\nEurasian market who want to cooperate with national industry,\u201d said\nMinister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita on Sunday (12 July\n2026).<\/p>\n
Behind this cooperation, the government through the Ministry of\nIndustry is no longer merely offering Indonesia as a market of more than\n280 million people, but as a regional production base connected to\nASEAN.<\/p>\n
So far, Indonesia\u2019s relations with Russia and other Eurasian\ncountries have been relatively dominated by trade. The value of\nIndonesia\u2013Russia trade has continued to rise in recent years, but the\ncontribution of investment and manufacturing cooperation remains\nlimited.<\/p>\n
For this reason, almost all of Indonesia\u2019s agenda at Innoprom was\ndirected at broadening the relationship into industrial\ncollaboration.<\/p>\n
This is reflected in the substance of the MoUs, which cover\nmanufacturing development, machine engineering, automotive, metallurgy,\nthe chemical industry, mineral processing, the halal industry,\nindustrial estates and the improvement of human resource\ncompetencies.<\/p>\n
The government also brought together industry associations from both\ncountries so that cooperation does not stop at the government level.<\/p>\n
Business-to-business MoUs, for example, involved the Indonesian\nOffshore and Shipbuilding Industry Companies Association (Iperindo), the\nIndonesian Ship Component Industry Association (PIKKI), PT Athira\nMaritim Indonesia, PT PCM Kabel Indonesia and the Indonesian Industrial\nEstates Association (HKI).<\/p>\n
This approach signals a change in Indonesia\u2019s economic diplomacy\nstrategy. Whereas previously investment promotion was mostly conducted\nthrough general investment forums, promotion is now specifically\ntargeted at industrial sectors deemed to have the potential to build\nsupply chains together.<\/p>\n
Director General of Industrial Resilience, Regional Development and\nInternational Access (KPAII) Tri Supondy said the achievements made\nduring Innoprom 2026 show the great interest of international partners\nin building cooperation with Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe achievements Indonesia attained during Innoprom 2026 show that\nnational industry is increasingly trusted. It is hoped that the various\nforms of cooperation built through this event will open up more\nopportunities for investment, trade and industrial collaboration that\nadd value to strengthening the competitiveness of Indonesian\nmanufacturing,\u201d said Tri.<\/p>\n
One interesting change in Indonesia\u2019s industrial diplomacy on this\noccasion is the way the government marketed its industrial estates.\nIndonesia not only brought manufacturing products, but also presented\nfive industrial estate operators directly to prospective investors.<\/p>\n
Batang Integrated Industrial Park, Kendal Industrial Park, Bintan\nIndustrial Estate, KI Wiraraja Indonesia and HKI became the face of\nIndonesia\u2019s investment promotion in Russia.<\/p>\n
This step shows the government wants to reduce the distance between\ninvestors and investment locations. Investors could discuss directly the\nreadiness of land, utilities, fiscal incentives, logistics access and\nlicensing services in a single forum.<\/p>\n
According to Indonesian industrial data, as of the second quarter of\n2026 the country has 180 industrial estates with almost 12,000 companies\nas tenants. Throughout 2025, these estates attracted investment of Rp\n6,744.58 trillion and absorbed around 2.35 million workers.<\/p>\n
Agus said industrial estates have now become an important instrument\nfor accelerating downstream processing, creating jobs and equalising\neconomic development. \u201cWe want Eurasian investors to see that Indonesia\nis not only a large market, but also a production partner that is ready\nto grow together,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For Eurasian investors, this approach provides greater certainty\nbecause industrial estates no longer merely provide land, but also offer\nease of starting a business through increasingly integrated\ninfrastructure, services and licensing.<\/p>\n
Executive Director of PT Kawasan Industri Terpadu Batang (Persero)\nJuliani Sari Kusumaningrum noted that investors today are not only\nlooking for land on which to build factories, but also consider the\nreadiness of supporting facilities that allow business activities to\nbegin immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn our estate, investors do not need to start everything from\nscratch. Ready-to-build land, utility networks, fiscal incentives\nthrough the special economic zone (KEK) scheme and logistics access\ndirectly connected to an international port are all available. This way,\ncompanies can focus more on accelerating their operations and business\ndevelopment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Beyond investment, the government also used Innoprom as a gateway to\nobtaining industrial technology. This was evident in the cooperation\nexplored in the shipbuilding sector. Indonesia needs large numbers of\nlogistics vessels, passenger ships, fishing vessels and vessels\nsupporting the offshore industry.<\/p>\n
Russia, meanwhile, has long experience in ship engineering,\npropulsion technology and vessel design of various sizes.<\/p>\n
A similar approach was taken in the chemical and pharmaceutical\nsectors. Indonesia brought companies in fertilisers, chemicals,\nindustrial glass, ceramics, flexible packaging and plastic\nrecycling.<\/p>\n
For the government, such cooperation is not merely about expanding\nexports, but about strengthening the domestic industry\u2019s ability to\nproduce value-added products.<\/p>\n
Director General of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Textile Industries\nTaufiek Bawazier said Russia has experience in developing petrochemicals\nand research-based pharmaceuticals that could complement Indonesia\u2019s\nneeds.<\/p>\n
Notably, Indonesia\u2019s diplomacy at Innoprom did not target Russia\nalone. Kazakhstan emerged as one of the new strategic partners.<\/p>\n
In a bilateral meeting, the two countries signed an industrial\ncooperation MoU covering automotive, machinery, metallurgy, mineral\nprocessing and industrial estate development.<\/p>\n
Geographically, Kazakhstan is viewed as a gateway to Central Asia and\nthe wider Eurasian market.<\/p>\n
The value of trade between the two countries is still relatively\nsmall, at around US$172.2 million in 2025. However, trade growth between\nJanuary and April 2026 reached more than 62 per cent, showing that room\nfor expansion remains open.<\/p>\n
The agreement also forms part of preparations for the implementation\nof the Indonesia\u2013Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement (I-EAEU\nFTA), which is currently at the ratification stage.<\/p>\n
Once the agreement comes into force, Indonesia\u2019s market access to\nRussia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan is expected to open\nup further.<\/p>\n
The same applies to the agreement with Armenia. Total trade between\nthe two countries was only around US$26.7 million in 2025. However,\naverage trade growth reached more than 70 per cent over the past four\nyears (2021\u20132024), supported by the non-oil and gas sector.<\/p>\n
Indonesia\u2019s main export commodities to Armenia include coffee, tea,\nspices, machinery and mechanical equipment, palm oil products, cocoa,\nsoap, rubber, optical fibre, musical instruments and leather\nproducts.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, said Agus, views Armenia not only as a bilateral partner\nbut also as a strategic gateway to the Commonwealth of Independent\nStates (CIS) region through its membership of the Eurasian Economic\nUnion (EAEU).<\/p>\n
Although various agreements have been signed, the real challenge only\nbegins once the exhibition ends. Project realisation will be determined\nby follow-up from both sides, regulatory certainty, the readiness of\nindustrial estates, logistics convenience and the cost competitiveness\nof Indonesian production.<\/p>\n
Indonesia\u2019s success at Innoprom 2026 is not measured solely by the\nnumber of MoUs signed, but by the ability to turn commitments into\ninvestment, new factories, technology transfer and jobs.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, as an industrial diplomacy strategy, Indonesia\u2019s\npresence as official partner country at the international industrial\nexhibition shows an increasingly clear shift in policy direction.\nIndonesia is no longer merely selling products, but offering an\nindustrial ecosystem ready to become part of global supply chains.<\/p>\n
Amid global competition for investment, such an approach is an\nimportant asset so that national industrialisation does not rely solely\non the domestic market, but also connects with new centres of economic\ngrowth in Eurasia.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/from-trade-to-investment-indonesia-opens-the-door-to-eurasia-1783849836", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }