IBC Delegation Visits Australia to Discuss Trade and Labor Mobility

The Indonesian Business Council (IBC), a business association and think tank, made its first official visit to Australia to introduce its role and initiatives. During its visit to Sydney and Canberra from September 8-11, 2025, IBC built relationship with government, business, and academics, while also presenting plans for the Indonesia Economic Summit (IES) 2026.

During the visit, IBC met Senator Don Farrell, Minister of Trade and Tourism Australia. This meeting was the main agenda of the visit, as well as an important momentum to discuss increasing trade flows and cross-sector investment partnership opportunities. On this occasion, IBC officially invited Senator Farrell to attend the Indonesia Economic Summit (IES 2026) in Jakarta and lead the Australian delegation at the Indonesia-Australia bilateral business roundtable, which will be a key event of the IES.

Arsjad Rasjid, Chair of the Board of Trustees IBC stated that in addition to strengthening the association networks, these visits also encouraged labor mobility agenda to enhance human capital quality and availability in both countries.

IBC delegation also held a dialogue with Senator Matt Thistlethwaite, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade; Assistant Minister for Immigration Australia, regarding the potential of labor mobility in the healthcare sector. Both parties acknowledged the opportunity for both countries to collaborate through targeted training and placement programs to increase the availability of Indonesian nurses in Australia and Australian doctors in Indonesia, thereby addressing both countries’ healthcare professional shortages.

Also in Sydney, IBC met Jennifer Westacott AC, Australia’s Business Champion for Indonesia, and Paul Grimes, CEO Austrade. This meeting highlighted the importance of reducing investment barries, optimizing the use of the IA-CEPA, and opening up investment opportunities at the regional level.

The IBC delegation concluded discussions with the Business Council of Australia (BCA) by preparing an IBC-BCA institutional partnership as a business-to-business (B2B) channel to facilitate private sector partnerships in both countries. At the same time, the IBC also discussed with the Lowy Instute about the geopolitical and geoeconomic dynamics of the Indo-Pacific and their implications for strengthening Indonesia-Australia trade and investment opportunities..

The trip continued to Canberra, where IBC met with the Indonesia Student Association (PPI) in Australia and held a dialogue with academics at the Australian National University (ANU), on Indonesia’s political and economic challenges as well as opportunities for trade and investment cooperation. “We see significant opportunities to expand trade, investment, and economic collaboration between Indonesia and Australia. This roadshow is a concrete step to accelerate that momentum,” Arsjad concluded.

This roadshow is a part of the preparations for the Indonesia Economic Summit (IES) 2026, which will take place in Jakarta on February 3-4, 2026, with the theme of “Coming Together to Boost Resilient Growth and Shared Prosperity.” This forum is targeted to bring together more than 1,500 business leaders, policymakers, and global experts to discuss sustainable growth strategies.