Indonesia Rising: Can Australia keep up with our neighbour's rapid growth?

Indonesia Rising: Can Australia keep up with our neighbour's rapid growth?

April 19, 2026 · 29 min

About this episode

The episode discusses Indonesia's rapid economic growth and its implications for Australia, featuring insights from economist Dr Mari Pangestu.

Australia's close neighbour is changing before our eyes. By mid-century, Indonesia is forecast to become the world’s fourth largest economy – imagine that! So how is Indonesia's economy really performing? Is democracy making a difference? And how will President Prabowo Subianto tackle the challenge of building infrastructure across an archipelago? In the first episode of Global Roaming's Indonesia Rising series, Hamish speaks with economist Dr Mari Pangestu to learn how the country is weathering global economic shocks and what's at stake in its partnership with Australia. Guest: Dr Mari Pangestu, economist, Indonesia's former Minister of Trade (2004-2011) and Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (2011-2014), and the former World Bank managing director (2020-2023). ------------ Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au Find all episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. -------------- Indonesia Rising sound design by Samuel Phelps. *Hamish is in Indonesia as the winner of the 2024 Elizabeth O’Neill Journalism Award.

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