Rosan Stresses Research and Industry Collaboration to Accelerate National Downstreaming

Minister of Investment and Downstreaming/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Rosan Roeslani, has stressed the importance of synergy between the research community and industry. He stated that this collaboration is the main key to accelerating downstreaming, which can provide significant added value for the national economy. Rosan explained that investment and downstreaming not only aim to increase the added value of natural resources but also to form the foundation of a national industry. The desired industry is one that is productive, transparent, competitive, and provides real benefits for workers’ welfare. The direction of Indonesia’s downstreaming policy must be able to create a sustainable industrial ecosystem, he said while delivering a keynote speech at the National Dialogue for the Science, Technology, and Industry Convention (KSTI) 2026 in Jakarta. The Minister emphasised that incoming investment should not be measured solely by its capital value. More importantly, investment must create quality jobs, increase national productivity, strengthen technological mastery, and provide greater added value to the economy. He believes the contribution from academics, researchers, and university students, particularly in research and development, is very positive. Therefore, future collaboration must be considered so that the positive results of investment and downstreaming can be implemented into the industry. The connection between research activities and industrial needs is a crucial factor in building a healthy and sustainable national industry. Rosan added that regulatory certainty, good governance, and ease of doing business will increase investor confidence while creating fair business competition. He revealed that the downstreaming policy has shown positive results, with investment realisation reaching Rp1,931.2 trillion throughout 2025, growing 12.7 per cent year-on-year. This achievement exceeded the government’s target at 101.3 per cent and successfully absorbed more than 2.7 million direct workers, an increase of 10.4 per cent compared to the previous year. To strengthen the national innovation ecosystem, the government has prepared a super tax deduction incentive of up to 300 per cent for research and development activities, as well as a similar incentive of up to 200 per cent for education and training. According to Rosan, this incentive policy will provide optimal benefits if accompanied by the commitment of all stakeholders to strengthen collaboration in producing innovations that can be directly applied in the industrial sector. Improving the quality of human resources is an inseparable part of the national downstreaming agenda, with industrial development needing to go hand in hand with improving workforce competence through training, research, skills enhancement, and occupational safety improvements.