Swiss-Indonesian Council Pushes for Sustainability Projects in Key Sectors

20 Jan 2023

On January 20, 2023, the Swiss-Indonesian Trade and Sustainability Council held its second annual meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, eight months after its establishment on May 2022. The meeting brought together approximately 30 top representatives from business, politics, and administration, both virtually and in person, to discuss the Council's plans and priorities for the year ahead.

Promoting Sustainability: The Council's Focus for 2023

During the opening speech, economiesuisse Chairman Christoph Mäder emphasized the Council's belief that the private sector plays a central role in promoting sustainability, which was the foundation for its creation. He also highlighted the three dimensions of sustainability: social, ecological, and economic. The Council is now focused on taking concrete steps to implement sustainability projects in these areas.

Since its establishment, the Council has been actively implementing its agenda on four priority areas, including textiles, education and vocational training, natural ingredients in food production, and infrastructure. In the textile sector, the Council is promoting the use of biodegradable materials and organic colorants, while exploring solutions and best practices for improving cooperation between Indonesian vocational schools and the private sector. The Council also aims to increase exchange between professionals from both countries. In the infrastructure sector, the Council is working on developing sustainability projects in waste management and steel production. They are also exploring options to create synergies between the Swiss and Indonesian private sectors in the area of local public transportation.

Key Players and Officials Attend the Second Annual Meeting

The Swiss delegation was represented by economiesuisse Chairman Christoph Mäder, as well as representatives from Swissmem, Swisscontact, Swiss Textiles, and Swiss Global-Enterprise (S-GE). The Indonesian delegation was represented by KADIN members and key government officials, including the Indonesian Minister for Cooperatives and SMEs, Teten Masduki, and the Vice-Minister for Tourism and Creative Economy, Rizki Handayani. Both the Swiss ambassador to Indonesia, Olivier Zehnder, and the Indonesian ambassador to Switzerland, Muliaman Hadad, were also in attendance and fully supportive of the Council's mission.

The establishment of the Swiss-Indonesian Trade and Sustainability Council has created an important forum for cross-sectoral exchange on sustainability projects in the bilateral relationship, and the Council is poised to take concrete steps to achieve its sustainability goals in the year ahead.