Raising Australia’s ‘Asia literacy a permanent national project’

Indonesia Australia Business Conference 2023: Sustaining Business

Baldwin Boyle Group UPDATE #2 – WEDNESDAY, 8 NOVEMBER

Indonesia is integral to Australia’s aims in Southeast Asia and is central to Australia raising its “Asia literacy”, Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) ’s Mukund Narayanamurti told the Indonesia Australia Business Council (IABC) conference in Jakarta today.

He said that is the first recommendation of the report, Invested: Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040, which was launched by the Australian Government in September this year. The report was authored by Nicholas Moore AO, Australia’s Special Envoy for Southeast Asia.

“I see raising Australia’s ‘Asia literacy’ as a permanent national project, and I’m committed to it… It will never be finished,” Mr Narayanamurti, Austrade’s Minister (Commercial) and General Manager Southeast Asia, said.

“For the first time we have a mandate to go into Australian boardrooms of our biggest companies and funds and educate them on Asia.”

He said the report, by Nicholas Moore, was grounded in the reality that Australia’s security and prosperity is intimately linked to the Southeast Asia region.

He said Southeast Asian investment into Australia continues to demonstrate “exceptionally strong growth” but Australian investment in the region is “underweight”.

In an earlier session on sustaining energy resources, the question was asked as to whether Indonesia can invest fast enough in its national electricity grid for the transition to renewable energy to be successful.

The Indonesian grid needs modernising so it can receive more renewable power, Sacha Winzenried , PwC Indonesia Partner and Energy, Utilities and Resources Industry Group Leader, Indonesia, said.

Another speaker was Tim Anderson , President Director of renewable energy developer SunCable , which is creating the world's largest dispatchable renewable energy project with 4,200km of sub-sea cable to supply low emissions power from Australia to Asia in a US $28 billion-plus project.

Anderson said the future strength of the Indonesia-Australia connection is based on relationships, but an issue for the bilateral relationship was not a shortage of funding, but a shortage of “fundable and bankable energy transition projects in Indonesia”.

He said that SunCable is sharing knowledge and technology transfer across Indonesia, including through seven partnerships with Indonesian universities.

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