The Griffith Asia Institute (GAI) participated in an industry roundtable on Thursday 27th July in Brisbane with the current Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Paul Grigson, at DFAT State offices. The roundtable event was hosted by the Australia Indonesia Business Council (AIBC) and was attended by AIBC-member only guests representing a diverse range of sectors in Queensland including education, legal & financial services, tourism, VET, aviation, logistics & freight, and manufacturing.<\/p>\n
Mr Grigson took up his appointment as Australia\u2019s Ambassador to Indonesia in January 2015, and was back in Australia for his mid-term consultations. The Ambassador has had other tenures as Australian Ambassador having served in Thailand and Burma, and has previously been the special representative of Australia in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He admitted that he has a penchant for Brisbane, as he is originally from the state, as well as a graduate of the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Journalism.<\/p>\n
In his opening remarks, Mr Grigson emphasised that Australian businesses need both a regional and sectoral approach in order to take advantage of rapidly evolving market opportunities in Indonesia. There are over a dozen or more Indonesian cities where economic growth is outpacing Jakarta. The key regions of Surabaya and Makassar, Mr Grigson said, are currently experiencing very high rates of economic growth in comparison to the national growth average of 4.8%. The city of Makassar, he predicted, would be a major hub for business, industry and services, outside of Jakarta. The capital of Sulawesi is already considered the main gateway to eastern Indonesia, and major infrastructure development such as new hotels, apartment blocks and other projects are already underway. There is a similar situation in Surabaya in East Java, the largest province in Indonesia outside Jakarta, where the range of trade and economic links with Australia are rapidly expanding.<\/p>\n
Mr Grigson also mentioned that Australian businesses should be more sector-focused, and quoted the design and creative industries, health services, IT and education as sectors of opportunity for greater bilateral trade and investment. Education and tourism in particular, he said, are essential underpinnings of the bilateral economic relationship, with Australia being the top destination for Indonesian students to pursue their study, and over a million tourists from Australia flocking to Indonesia annually. He also mentioned that many Indonesians working in these sectors are alumni of Australian educational institutions and have both professional and sentimental ties with Australia that are not often well publicised. On this basis, Mr Grigson remarked that it is the knowledge of each other\u2019s countries that we gain through \u201ctrade of people\u201d that is the most important element of the relationship.<\/p>\n