BRIN Chief urges innovation push for Indonesia's economic growth

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Human capital and technological innovation are critical pillars driving economic progress, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) Head Arif Satria said Thursday, urging Indonesia to accelerate research efforts.

Speaking at the closing of the 2026 Indonesia Research and Innovation Fair (IRIFair), Satria referenced Nobel laureate Paul Romer’s endogenous growth theory to highlight how future national wealth depends heavily on innovation rather than raw natural resources.

"Human capital and mastery of technology and innovation are the two key factors that will serve as pillars of economic progress," Satria said, noting that global economic trends have shifted significantly over the past three decades away from resource reliance.

Pointing to the Global Innovation Index, Satria emphasized that higher innovation scores directly correlate with increases in per capita income.

Indonesia currently ranks 55th globally on the index, indicating moderate national competitiveness across key economic sectors.

Despite this baseline, the research chief urged young researchers not to be discouraged, pointing to China's rapid technological transformation over the past 30 years as evidence that significant leaps are possible.

China has since registered around 1.8 million patents.

"Small will not always remain small, and big will not always remain big," Satria said.

"The correlation is very clear. This shows that we have a start, we have a baseline, and now it depends on how we increase the pace to achieve what we aspire to."

He concluded that Indonesia must aggressively strengthen high-quality human development to secure sustainable, long-term economic growth.

Translator: Sean Filo Muhamad, Katriana
Editor: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono
Copyright © ANTARA 2026