Indonesia, Philippines Strengthen Creative Economy Cooperation

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta –Indonesian Minister of Creative Economy, Teuku Riefky Harsya, is encouraging closer partnerships between creative economy talents in Indonesia and the Philippines. He believes the Philippines’ experience in the creative industries can open up broader opportunities for collaboration.

“As Southeast Asian countries, we share many similarities and have the potential to complement one another. I look forward to strengthening collaboration between Indonesian and Filipino talent to create something new and bring benefits to both nations,” Minister Riefky said while receiving the Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia, Christopher B. Montero, in Jakarta on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, as quoted on the Ministry’s official website.

Ambassador Montero expressed interest in learning about Indonesia’s creative economy development, including the institutional framework of the Ministry of Creative Economy. “We are looking forward to identifying more opportunities for collaboration and developing concrete partnerships to jointly advance the creative economies of both nations,” he said.

Previous Indonesia–Philippines collaboration was realized through “Batik-Barong,” which combines the Philippine Barong garment with Indonesian batik techniques and motifs. The cross-border initiative in the crafts and fashion subsectors was launched in Manila in March this year.

At the ASEAN level, Indonesia supports the Philippines’ initiative to establish the ASEAN Center of Excellence for Creative Industries (ACE‑CI) in Manila. Both countries are also involved in developing the Creative Economy Data Model in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

To expand cooperation, Indonesia has invited a Philippine delegation to attend the 2026 World Conference on Creative Economy (WCCE) on October 21–23 at JIExpo Kemayoran, Jakarta. The Philippines has committed to sending a high‑level delegation and creating opportunities for its creative talents and practitioners to participate.

The two countries also discussed promotional exchanges and pop‑up exhibitions for creative products. Indonesia also offered the Philippines the opportunity to host WCCE 2028. ***