Why Indonesia

Indonesia is located in Southeast Asia between Indian and Pacific Oceans and is bordered by Malaysia, Singapore, East Timor and PNG. The country is connected to the South China Sea and the larger Pacific Ocean through straits of Malacca. Indonesia is rich in natural resources, minerals, oil and fertile land. These diverse resources and its strategic trade location have made Indonesia attractive to foreign trades and investors.Indonesia has been positioned as the destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the recent years. This is due to the diverse natural resources, young and burgeoning population, stable politic, and strategic location in relation to the giant economies of China and India. Indonesia is now in the transition from low income to middle income economy and from a primary producer to a value added exporter as well as knowledge based economy. Thus, there are immense investment opportunities in all sectors, ranging from infrastructure to manufacturing and services.To boost Indoensia’s rise to a sustainable economy, the government has established the National Long Term Development Plan (RPJPN 2005 – 2025) of which science and technology (S&T) is one of the main focuses. Under RPJPN, the S&T program will be developed and implemented to drive the growth of following industries:

• Advanced material

• Health and pharmaceutical

• Defence and security

• Information and communication technology

• Transportation

• Energy

• Food Security

In this regard, research and development (R&D) programmes have widely been implemented to support to growth of S&T. R&D is also the key factor that determines the national competitiveness and economic development. Therefore, R&D sector has been receiving strong support through the collaboration between government agencies, international organisation and private corporations.