IBC Welcomes Australia’s Assistant Minister Foreign Affairs and Trade The Hon. Matt Thislethwaite MP

The Indonesian Business Council (IBC) was honoured to welcome the Hon. Matt Thislethwaite, Assistant Minister for Immigration and Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia, to its Jakarta office on the 14th of July 2026.

The meeting was attended by Arsjad Rasjid, Chairman of the Board of IBC, as well as IBC’s CEO Sofyan Djalil, and Chief Economist Denni Purbasari reflecting the strong commitment of both Indonesian and Australian leaders to deepen economic ties.

This visit follows IBC’s first meeting with Assistant Minister Thistlethwaite during its Australia Roadshow in September 2025. IBC shared updates including the publication of the IA-CEPA review submission developed in collaboration with the Business Council of Australia (BCA).

This submission, based on discussions at the Inaugural Indonesia-Australia Business Roundtable held at the Indonesia Economic Summit (IES) 2026, jointly called for stronger regulatory frameworks to drive investment and trade.

Assistant Minister Thistlethwaite discussed how Australia and Indonesia can work even closer together in this period of global disruption, including to maximise the benefits of the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA).

In response, IBC emphasized the importance of integrating supply chains between the two nations and advocated for accelerating investments that prioritize social impact, especially through the creation of skilled jobs in Indonesia.