High-Level Policy Dialogue 2023
Accelerating economic transformation to enhance Indonesia’s resilience and boost Indonesia’s economic growth.
The ANU Indonesia Project and the Indonesian Ministry of Finance (MoF) organised the 2023 Indonesia-Australia High Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD) in Jakarta on 29 May 2023. The 2023 HLPD marked a welcomed back for the policy dialogue after a temporary halt from 2020 - 2022 due to COVID-19. The 2023 Indonesia-Australia HLPD focused on two main issues:
Optimal policy mix to respond to short-term challenges
Accelerating economic transformation and continuing structural reforms for long-term development.
Background to the 2023 HLPD
The global economy is overshadowed by various downside risks that potentially hinder the post COVID-19 recovery process and may even lead to global recession. Various factors such as geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruption, and persistent inflation have prompted to synchronous monetary tightening, financial distress, and global fragmentation, which eventually lead to the weaker prospects for future global economic growth. In this regard, it is critical for Indonesia to respond to the challenges in order to enhance its future resilience to achieve long-term development goals. Against this backdrop, the Indonesian Ministry of Finance (IMOF) intends to hold annual High-Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD) with the Australian government, including their respective research institutions.
2023 HLPD Program
The HLPD was temporarily halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020–2022. It is resumed in 2023 with a slightly different format. In the anticipation of travel restriction, it was decided not to have the Pre-HLPD Meeting event in Canberra. Instead, two closed Zoom-based meetings were conducted in February and March 2023. These meetings are called ‘Pre-heating Sessions’. ANU Indonesia Project and FPA-MOF will discuss whether to continue this format or to return to the pre-pandemic format with Pre-HLPD Meeting in Canberra.
The 2023 HLPD Plenary Meeting was held on Monday, 29 May, 2023, in the Ministry of Finance, Jakarta.
HLPD Plenary Meeting
The 2023 HLPD Plenary Meeting was held on Monday, 29 May, 2023, in the Ministry of Finance, Jakarta. The meeting was opened by Dr Febrio Kacaribu, the Head of FPA-MOF, followed by remarks from HE Penny Williams, the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, and HE Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Indonesia’s Minister of Finance. The Dialogue had two main sessions, Policy Coordination and Economic Transformation. The first session, chaired by Professor Candra Ananda (U. Brawijaya, Special Assistant to Minister of Finance) comprised of two topics: Fiscal and Monetary Policy Coordination, presented by Dr M. Chatib Basri (UI, former Minister of Finance) and Central and Local Government Coordination, presented by Professor Blane Lewis (ANU). The second session, chaired by Dr Arianto Patunru (ANU) consisted of two topics: Industrialization Strategy, presented by Dr Haryo Aswicahyono (CSIS) and Energy Transition, presented by Professor Budy Resosudarmo (ANU).
The event was well attended by high-level officials from Indonesian Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Trade, Coordinating Ministry of Economic Affairs, Coordinating Ministry of Maritime and Investment Affairs, Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS), PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (PT SMI, MOF’s special mission vehicle for development financing), PT PLN (state-owned electricity company), Australian Treasury, DFAT/Australian Embassy, academics and experts from Universitas Indonesia, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Universitas Airlangga, Universitas Lambung Mangkurat, SMERU Research Institute, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), and Prospera, as well as representatives for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and GIZ Disaster Risk Management (GIZ-DRM).
The Communique was reported to the Minister of Finance and the Head of FPA-MOF on Wednesday, 31 May 2023. The submission was led by Professor Hal Hill and attended by Professor Blane Lewis, Professor Budy Resosudarmo, Dr Arianto Patunru (all from ANU) and Ms Kristen Baker and Mr Cosimo Thawley from Australian Treasury.