RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - The Indonesian Ministry of Creative Economy and the Ministry of Culture have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation in developing culture and the creative economy.

The agreement was signed by Creative Economy Minister Teuku Riefky Harsya and Minister of Culture Fadli Zon in Jakarta on Tuesday, March 10, 2026.

Both ministries agreed to enhance collaboration in building the national cultural and creative industry. Minister Riefky described culture as the main source of creative economic products, while the creative industry serves as a downstream sector that generates economic value. “Culture is a source of inspiration for many creative products, from films to digital content,” he said.

Minister Riefky emphasized that culture is a vital foundation for national creative economic development and that creative products should carry a strong Indonesian identity. He added that cultural preservation can be pursued alongside efforts to strengthen the creative economy. “We hope that culture will be preserved while also providing economic benefits to Indonesians,” he said.

The scope of cooperation includes harmonizing policies and programs for creative economy development, promoting culture, and advancing cultural diplomacy. It also covers intellectual property protection, joint research, and human resource development.

Data and information exchange will form another key aspect of the collaboration, with additional initiatives to be pursued according to each ministry’s duties and functions.

Minister Fadli Zon said the MoU provides a framework for managing Indonesia’s cultural wealth. He noted that Indonesia has around 1,340 ethnic groups and 708 regional languages, along with 2,727 intangible cultural heritages recorded from tens of thousands of cultural data entries.

Minister Fadli also highlighted that several cultural traditions, including wayang (traditional puppet theater), keris (traditional dagger), and angklung (bamboo musical instrument), have gained international recognition. “UNESCO has only recorded around 16 Indonesian cultures as world heritage,” he said. (Gusti Panji/Lasti Martina)