Trade Minister Budi Santoso Encourages Strengthening Indonesia–Thailand Trade Ties
Menteri Perdagangan Budi Santoso stated that Indonesia and Thailand are key partners in ASEAN’s economic growth. On a bilateral level, Minister Busan welcomed the achievement of trade between the two countries, which reached USD 17.7 billion in 2025. He also expressed support for collaboration between Indonesian and Thai business actors in a business forum that can enhance trade relations between the two countries.
Minister Busan conveyed this during his remarks at the Indonesia-Thailand Business Forum titled “Advancing the Indonesia–Thailand Strategic Partnership: Building Integrated Value Chains in Industry, Services, and the Halal Economy” on Tuesday, 4 August, in Jakarta. The forum was organised through a collaboration between the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) and the Thai Chamber of Commerce.
“We appreciate the Indonesia-Thailand Business Forum as an important platform to strengthen economic cooperation, promote investment, and expand business collaboration between Indonesia and Thailand,” said Minister Busan. “We hope this forum can create concrete results.”
Minister Busan added that Indonesia’s current trade policy focuses on diversifying export markets and expanding market access. This effort is pursued through the utilisation of bilateral and regional agreements.
“To support this strategy, Indonesia continues to strive to improve the competitiveness of our business actors, especially micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). We will also strengthen the integration of Indonesian business actors, including MSMEs, into the global value chain,” said Minister Busan.
Furthermore, Minister Busan expressed optimism about Indonesia amidst global uncertainty. According to him, international trade and investment are currently influenced by geopolitical dynamics, supply chain adjustments, climate challenges, and rapid technological transformation. However, Indonesia still possesses a continuously growing domestic market, a young and productive workforce, and abundant natural resources.
To support this potential, the Indonesian government is strongly committed to downstreaming, food security, sustainable development, and global market expansion. This potential can be leveraged to make Indonesia a key player at the global level. “These various potentials can position Indonesia as a strategic hub for production, investment, and exports,” said Minister Busan.
The forum was also attended by the Prime Minister of Thailand, Anutin Charnvirakul. According to him, deeper ASEAN economic integration is an economic necessity. As the two largest economies in ASEAN, Thailand and Indonesia have the opportunity and responsibility to lead ASEAN.
The Indonesian President’s Special Envoy for Climate and Energy, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, who was also present at the business forum, described the economies of Indonesia and Thailand as always interconnected. Therefore, collaboration between the two countries is becoming increasingly important to strengthen themselves against the impact of external conditions.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of Kadin Indonesia, Anindya N. Bakrie, conveyed the importance of collaboration between Indonesia and Thailand to build together and create solutions that transcend national borders. He invited both parties to deepen trade relations, encourage the birth of more entrepreneurs, and increase innovation.
In agreement, the Chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, Poj Poj Aramwattanont, also stressed the importance of ASEAN collaboration amidst various global uncertainties. According to him, the future of ASEAN will be determined by the collaboration of its member countries to compete at the global level.