Indonesia Joins WAICO, Aims for Digital Economy of US $300 Billion Through AI Development

JAKARTA - Indonesia's digital economy has the potential to experience accelerated growth as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology increases in various strategic sectors.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy of the Republic of Indonesia Airlangga Hartarto said that the implementation of AI has a wide scope and can have a significant impact on various sectors, ranging from modern agriculture, renewable energy development, energy transition, to the improvement of digital-based health services.

However, he added that the optimization of this technology requires adequate digital infrastructure support, especially the development of data centers (data centers), which are considered the main foundation for the development of the AI ecosystem in Indonesia.

"The outcome of artificial intelligence or AI, for me, covers many fields because the scope of AI is very broad. For countries like Indonesia, of course, the application of AI can be used in the agricultural sector (modern agriculture), energy transition, and then for renewable energy, and to develop many digital sectors including in the health sector. I think that Indonesia's digital economy is currently worth 13 billion US dollars, and we are heading for 300 billion US dollars, where this amount will double with the presence of AI," he said in his statement, Friday, July 17.

Efforts to accelerate the development of the national AI ecosystem are also strengthened through Indonesia's steps to join as one of the founding members of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO).

This commitment was marked by the signing of the establishment document of WAICO in the series of the WAIC 2026 Conference which took place in Shanghai, People's Republic of China (PRC).

Indonesia's participation in the organization is part of the government's strategy to strengthen international cooperation in the development and governance of AI.

The signing of the WAICO establishment document was carried out by Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga together with representatives from around 30 other countries.

Apart from Indonesia, countries that also signed the WAICO founding agreement include Algeria, Belarus, Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Congo, Cuba, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Malaysia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Russia, Senegal, Serbia, South Africa, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Zambia, and the PRC.

WAICO is an independent international intergovernmental organization with a focus on inclusive and non-discriminatory artificial intelligence cooperation in the civilian domain.

Airlangga assessed that Indonesia's position as a founding member has strategic value to help determine the direction of global AI governance development so that it continues to prioritize a human-centric approach and presents equal benefits for all countries, especially for developing countries in advancing their economies.

According to him, Indonesia's involvement since the early stages of the establishment of WAICO has also opened up space for this country to contribute to the formulation of the organization's policy and institutional structure.

Airlangga said the government also ensured that all forms of cooperation and technical coordination through WAICO would continue to follow national regulations, AI ethics principles, data sovereignty protection, and various strategic economic commitments of Indonesia.

As a follow-up step, the government will strengthen cross-ministry and agency coordination to optimize the role of WAICO in supporting the acceleration of national digital transformation.

The main focus includes improving the readiness of domestic data center infrastructure, developing human resource competencies in the field of AI, and expanding international collaboration that can add value to Indonesia's economic growth.