RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesia's Vice Minister of Creative Economy, Irene Umar, discussed cooperation in the publishing sector and Indonesia’s participation in the 2026 Frankfurter Buchmesse in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, together with the President & Director of the Frankfurter Buchmesse, Juergen Boos. The Vice Minister emphasized that collaboration with the Frankfurter Buchmesse is part of efforts to strengthen the national publishing ecosystem.

“Indonesia’s publishing industry has strong and continuously growing narratives. Through the Frankfurter Buchmesse, Indonesian authors’ works can gain wider distribution opportunities while opening up possibilities for copyright development and transforming works into various creative formats. These efforts aim to strengthen a creative economy based on intellectual property,” she said during an audience held at Autograph Tower on Wednesday, May 20, 2026.

In a statement received on Thursday, May 21, Irene Umar also highlighted that Indonesia’s participation in international forums like the Frankfurter Buchmesse plays an important role in strengthening Indonesia’s position as an active player in global publishing industry discussions.

The government encourages the expansion of international cooperation through copyright trade, residency programs, co-publishing, as well as the development of IP adaptations into films, games, and digital platforms. Meanwhile, the President & Director of the Frankfurter Buchmesse, Juergen Boos, stated that Indonesia is becoming an increasingly significant player in the global publishing industry.

“Indonesia has storytelling power and creativity that are relevant to a global audience. The potential for collaboration is wide open, both in book publishing and in the development of intellectual property rights and cross-media adaptations,” Juergen Boos said.

The Frankfurter Buchmesse is the world’s largest book and content industry fair, held since 1949 under the tagline The World Capital of Ideas. In 2025, the event featured over 4,350 exhibitors from 100 countries and recorded around 238,000 visitors.

Indonesia previously served as the Guest of Honour in 2015 with the theme "17,000 Islands of Imagination". Through participation in the 2026 Frankfurter Buchmesse, scheduled for October 7–11, 2026, in Frankfurt, Indonesia is expected to expand international exposure for Indonesian authors’ works while strengthening connections between the national publishing industry and global partners.