Indonesia must leverage Australia’s ongoing interest in Southeast Asia to shape a practical agenda for security and economic collaboration while clarifying its own strategic priorities, ensuring that the partnership is driven by shared regional goals rather than short-term domestic concerns.

Indonesia is increasingly utilizing local content requirements (LCRs) across key sectors to support domestic industries and value addition, but these measures may breach its international trade and investment obligations under WTO and bilateral agreements.

This transformation is marked by a deepening of ties with China, including unprecedented cooperation in the contested South China Sea, and a strategic pivot towards regional partnerships within ASEAN and BRICS.

Indonesia is projected to maintain robust economic growth in 2025, driven by resilient domestic demand and strong government support for infrastructure and industrial downstreaming.

Indonesia’s Positive Investment List, introduced through Presidential Regulation No. 49 of 2021, liberalizes over 200 business sectors for foreign investment, including transportation, energy, and telecommunications.

Indonesia's nickel industry has become a focal point for Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI), driven by China's escalating demand for nickel in electric vehicle (EV) battery production.

Indonesia's micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) stand to gain significantly from the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), which aims to standardize digital trade and financial services across the region.

Studies of the Indonesian political economy suggest a transformation of government-business relationship from a “patrimonial administrative” state, in which bureaucrats are dominant, to a “patrimonial oligarchic” state dominated by business actors.

The Trump administration’s method of defining “reciprocal tariffs” is unconventional, basing the rate on the extent of the U.S. trade deficit with each country rather than mirroring their actual tariffs.