JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto projects that Indonesia will be one of the five largest economies in the world by 2050.
In the short term, he said he was optimistic that Indonesia's economy could grow by around 5.4 percent in 2026. He assessed that the fundamentals of the domestic economy were still quite strong, among other things reflected by the trade surplus which had lasted for 69 consecutive months until the beginning of this year.
"We are also accelerating the Indonesia Incorporated strategy, which is synergy between the government, the business world, and all elements of the nation to achieve common development goals," said Airlangga at the Tokyo Conference 2026, quoted by Antara, Thursday, March 12.
Therefore, Indonesia is considered ready to strengthen cooperation with various partners in the region to maintain global economic resilience.
In his presentation, Airlangga conveyed that Asian countries actually have great potential to become the world's main economic power in the future. However, this potential can only be realized if countries in the region remain committed to open and inclusive regional cooperation.
The Asia region is projected to account for about 52 percent of global GDP by 2050. This means that in less than 25 years, Asia will play an increasingly important role in the world economy.
"If Asia remains committed to open cooperation and rejects zero-sum competition, then 2050 can be the Asian century," said Airlangga.
According to its projections, China will become the largest economy in Asia with a GDP value of nearly 58 trillion US dollars by 2050. The next position is occupied by India with a GDP of around 44 trillion US dollars. Meanwhile, Indonesia is estimated to be in third place with a GDP of around 10 to 11 trillion US dollars.
Japan is predicted to have a GDP of around US$8-9 trillion, while South Korea is expected to record a GDP of around US$3-4 trillion by 2050.
"Instead of being fragmented, we must strengthen connectivity. Instead of protectionism, we must strengthen open trade based on rules," he said.
Airlangga also highlighted the role of the ASEAN region, which is projected to become one of the world's main economic blocs in the next 25 years. Currently, the ASEAN region has a collective GDP of around 4.13 trillion US dollars.
On this occasion, the Coordinating Minister also touched on global geopolitical tensions which were considered to increase the uncertainty of the world economy. According to him, relations between major countries are increasingly influenced by strategic and political interests that are transactional.
He also assessed that the trend of protectionism was increasing and had the potential to reduce confidence in the multilateral system.
For example, the World Trade Organization (WTO) is still facing challenges in achieving progress on digital trade issues and strengthening global supply chains.
On the other hand, the United Nations (UN) is also facing difficulties in maintaining the effectiveness of multilateralism due to increasing geopolitical tensions and increasingly complex global crises.
The geopolitical situation in the Middle East also triggered global uncertainty, especially due to conflicts involving the US, Israel, and Iran. This condition has an impact on fluctuations in world energy prices.
Based on data as of March 10, 2026, the price of Brent oil was recorded at around 90.42 US dollars per barrel. Previously, oil prices had jumped to more than 100 US dollars due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz triggered by the escalation of conflict in the region.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
