Bambang Brodjonegoro, Former Minister of National Development Planning/Head of Development Planning Agency (2016 – 2019) and Professor of Economics at the University of Indonesia (center), attends the thematic parallel session of the 2024 High-Level Forum on Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships (HLF MSP). Bambang emphasized that resource-rich developing countries must be more proactive in addressing the shortages of capital, technology, and human capital. (Photo: Bappenas)

Badung, 3 September 2024 — The thematic parallel session of the 2024 High-Level Forum on Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships (HLF MSP) highlighted the importance of multi-stakeholder partnerships in driving higher economic value at the regional level, particularly for developing countries.

The session, held on Tuesday (3 September 2024), was themed “Innovate to Elevate: Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships for Promoting Higher Economic Value at the Regional Level” and featured Bambang Brodjonegoro, former Minister of National Development Planning/Head of Development Planning Agency (2016 – 2019) and Professor of Economics at the University of Indonesia.

Bambang emphasized that resource-rich developing countries must be more proactive in addressing the shortages of capital, technology, and human capital. “The objective is to transform the potential of natural resources into sustainable economic growth,” he said.

Bambang underlined that foreign direct investment (FDI) can be a crucial tool for developing countries to process their natural resources. However, he pointed out that governments need to be discerning in attracting the FDI to ensure that it creates added value rather than merely exploiting resources.

“Evaluating incoming FDI is important. Indonesia is taking this approach through its downstreaming program. For instance, investors processing our nickel not only have access to raw materials but are also required to develop downstream products like stainless steel or EV batteries. This is the essence of creating added value,” Bambang explained.

Bambang also highlighted the importance of adopting technology and building human resource capacity in the Global South. He mentioned that investing in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), as well as research and development (R&D), is essential for creating a productive and innovative workforce. 

“To boost productivity, we must adopt suitable technologies and develop domestic capabilities to understand and utilize those technologies. This does not only depend on technology but also the quality of our human capital. Therefore, we must invest in digital infrastructure and education to achieve this,” said Bambang.

Meanwhile, Shinta Kamdani, Chairperson of the Indonesian Employers' Association, also stressed that creating high economic value cannot be accomplished by one party alone. “Collaboration among various economic actors is required to sustainably produce innovations with high economic value,” Shinta stated.

She highlighted three key factors that can drive sustainable innovation with high economic value: investment in R&D by businesses and investors, the ability of higher education institutions to produce quality research, and innovations relevant to societal needs and regulatory standards. 

Therefore, developing countries need to adopt a more integrated multi-stakeholder partnership approach to achieve higher and more sustainable economic growth. Collaboration between the government, private sector, and academia is vital to creating significant added value and enhancing competitiveness in the global market. (Bappenas/TR/Elvira Inda Sari/WW/PR).

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For more information, please contact:

Head of the Public Relations, Archives, and Executive Administration Bureau at the Ministry of National Development Planning (PPN/Bappenas), Ardian Budhi Nugroho (082124150454).

Get more information at https://infopublik.id/kategori/hlm-msp-iaf, https://media.msp-iaf.id/, and https://s.id/msp-iaf.