Indonesia and Slovakia Explore Cooperation in Technology, Downstreaming, and Cybersecurity

The Minister for National Development Planning/Head of Bappenas Rachmat Pambudy received a visit from Slovakia’s Ambassador to Indonesia, Tomáš Ferko, at the Bappenas Office in Jakarta on 18 June 2026 to discuss opportunities for strengthening bilateral cooperation in technology, industrial downstreaming, capacity building, and cybersecurity.

During the meeting, Minister Rachmat emphasised that Indonesia views Slovakia as an important partner, particularly due to the country’s technological advancement and capacity for innovation.

“Although Slovakia is a relatively small country, we have never considered a country’s size to be the primary factor. What we value is its progress, its technology, and the opportunities that can be built together. The relationship between Indonesia and Slovakia also has deep historical roots dating back to the era of Czechoslovakia. Indonesia is very open to working with countries that possess technological and innovative advantages to support our national development agenda,” said Minister Rachmat.

Minister Rachmat added that Indonesia is currently advancing the downstreaming of its natural resources, a process that requires technological and innovative support from international partners.

“Indonesia possesses vast resources. Our challenge is how to develop downstream industries that generate higher added value. To achieve this, we need technology, innovation, and sound management. This is where we see opportunities for cooperation with Slovakia. We want to learn from one another, understand each other’s priorities, and build collaborations that can be translated into concrete programmes,” Minister Rachmat stated.

Slovakia’s Ambassador to Indonesia, Tomáš Ferko, noted that relations between the two countries continue to develop, including following the visit of Slovakia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs to Indonesia several months ago, which was accompanied by a business delegation.

“We see tremendous opportunities to strengthen the strategic partnership between Slovakia and Indonesia. We aim to build future-oriented cooperation in areas including high technology, technology transfer, capacity building, and cybersecurity. Indonesia is among the priority countries for various financing and support schemes that we provide, and we therefore hope to see more concrete projects developed together,” said Ambassador Ferko.

On the same occasion, representatives of Slovak cybersecurity company ESET presented a range of digital security solutions that have been implemented globally, including the development of security operations centres, the protection of critical infrastructure, artificial intelligence (AI) security, and measures to safeguard citizens from cyber threats.

In response, Minister Rachmat underscored the importance of an integrated approach to strengthening national cybersecurity, emphasising that cybersecurity is becoming an increasingly urgent necessity for Indonesia and that the country remains open to opportunities for cooperation with Slovakia in this field