Government Urges MSMEs to Maximize Global Trade Agreements
Deputy Minister of Trade Dyah Roro Esti has strongly encouraged business players across Indonesia, including Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), to actively utilize the nation’s growing number of trade agreements with the international community to expand their reach.
In a statement released on Saturday, Esti acknowledged that globalization represents an increasing interconnectedness among nations worldwide, with trade serving as one of the key sectors that benefits most significantly from this trend.
She noted that although current geopolitical dynamics are pushing globalization toward multipolarity, Indonesia remains consistent in its commitment to maintaining an open economy and active engagement with the world, a stance that aligns directly with its core foreign policy principles.
Speaking at the Milken Institute Asia Summit 2025 in Singapore, during a session titled “Can Globalization Be Great Again? Doing Business in a Changing World,” Esti outlined Indonesia’s strategic approach to tackling complex global challenges: continuously expanding market access.
She emphasized that Indonesia is diligently working to broaden its global market reach in line with its firm commitment to trade openness and international economic cooperation.
This dedication is evidenced by the nation’s success in finalizing 24 trade agreements with 30 countries to date, including major pacts like the Indonesia–EU CEPA, the recently signed Indonesia–Canada CEPA, and the Indonesia–Peru CEPA.
Expanding Market Reach and Trade Diversification
Indonesia’s strategic focus extends beyond traditional trade partners, encompassing a deliberate effort to diversify its markets and strengthen trade in services to build a more resilient economy.
To adapt proactively to current global trade dynamics, Esti revealed that Indonesia is now also exploring promising non-traditional markets, specifically targeting regions in Africa, such as Tunisia and Mozambique.
This expansion is supported by compelling recent trade data: Indonesia’s total export value from January to August 2025 surged by 7.72 percent, reaching US$185.13 billion compared to the same period in 2024.
During that same eight-month timeframe, the nation recorded a substantial trade surplus of US$29.14 billion, marking an impressive 64 consecutive months of surplus.
The Deputy Minister stressed that the government is not solely focused on market expansion; it is also actively promoting exports by rigorously strengthening trade in services across a wide array of sectors.
These include retail, e-commerce, logistics, health care and nursing, banking, tourism, culinary arts, design, fashion, and construction.
Esti explained that this comprehensive diversification strategy is crucial for ensuring that the Indonesian economy and its trade performance are not overly dependent on the export of goods alone, providing greater stability and growth opportunities for businesses, including smaller MSMEs looking to leverage e-commerce and logistics services.
Downstreaming and Innovation for Sustainable Growth
The government’s strategy for long-term sustainable growth is centered on downstream industrialization, ensuring a balance between protecting domestic interests and maintaining global openness.
Esti underscored the critical importance of balancing domestic interests with global openness as a means to significantly strengthen Indonesia’s overall economic competitiveness.
This balanced approach, she noted, aligns perfectly with President Prabowo Subianto’s Asta Cita vision, which places strong focus on industrial downstreaming, ensuring national food and energy security, and investing heavily in human resource development.
The Deputy Minister affirmed the government’s ongoing commitment to generating opportunities for domestic enterprises to grow and thrive, while simultaneously implementing safeguards to shield them from any adverse impacts that may arise from the volatility of globalization.
She elaborated that the government’s current policy focus is heavily concentrated on downstream development across the industrial, plantation, and fisheries sectors.
This strategic direction is intended to generate significant multiplier effects through the creation of new jobs and the vital transfer of knowledge and advanced technology into the local economy, thereby empowering MSMEs and improving local capabilities.
Finally, Esti concluded by strongly encouraging all business players to continually innovate and to strictly comply with all international trade standards.
This cooperation, she believes, will allow the business community and the government to work together to foster a more conducive business climate, which will ultimately attract greater foreign and domestic investment.
