Kick-off of the Indonesian-German Digital Dialogue at Hannover Messe

By signing the Joint Declaration of Intent at ministerial level, BMDV and MCI officially established the Indonesian-German Digital Dialogue. The kick-off meeting has now laid the foundation for the bilateral cooperation and multi-stakeholder exchange, which will be further strengthened in the coming years.

Benjamin Brake (Director General Digital and Data Policy, BMDV) and Usman Kansong (Director General Public Information and Communications, MCI) opened the meeting and emphasised the great importance of the Digital Dialogue for the digital transformation of Germany and Indonesia. Together, the partner ministries also want to shape digital policy at international level.

The Work Plan 2023-2024

Kansong and Brake then agreed on the Work Plan, which defines the key areas of the Indonesian-German Digital Dialogue for the next two years. The cooperation will mainly focus on these three areas:

• Digital policy and strategy
• Digital and emerging technologies
• Digital business opportunities and models

A wide range of cooperation topics fall into these areas, ranging from internet governance, data policy and artificial intelligence strategies to cooperation with SMEs and promotion of start-ups. Over the next two years, joint activities in the above-mentioned areas, such as expert exchanges and delegation visits, will be implemented. Multi-stakeholder exchanges will be at the heart of the dialogue.

Bonifasius Wahyu Pudjianto, MCI representative, particularly emphasised the importance of fostering SME in the Digital Dialogue. Heiko Wildner (BMDV) reiterated the relevance of directly engaging stakeholders from business, civil society and research, and involving them in the dialogue.

Both sides agreed that a strategy for digital transformation cannot be a “one size fits all” concept, but needs to be tailormade to the local and regional environment. Hence, a first important objective in the dialogue is to strengthen the understanding of determining factors in both countries and the different approaches to tackle them.

Close exchange with stakeholders of the Digital Dialogue

Following the agreement of the Work Plan, the political representatives met with numerous representatives of German and Indonesian business, research and civil society.

Company representatives from Telkomsel, Siemens and Beckhoff presented opportunities opened up by the Digital Dialogue as well as challenges that should be taken into account. Among other things, they emphasised new opportunities in the field of data policy, artificial intelligence and 5G technology, but also the relevance of and for start-ups and SMEs.

Outlook for the cooperation

With the support of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the partner ministries intend to deepen their exchange on the above-mentioned areas and to involve relevant stakeholders.

The dialogue will not be limited to Annual Meetings, but will continue on an ongoing basis. BMDV and MCI want to establish a close dialogue with business, science and civil society. With the Digital Dialogue, they are creating a multi-stakeholder platform through which stakeholders can actively engage and contribute their own ideas for activities.