About the Hadi Soesastro Policy Forum

Hadi Soesastro Policy Forum was an annual one-day economic and policy forum in Jakarta jointly held by CSIS and ANU Indonesia Indonesia Project. It aimed to disseminate and engage discussion on Indonesia’s public policies. In each of this Forum, an Update Book based from Indonesia Update Conference from the previous year was launched.

The Hadi Soesastro Policy Forum ran from 2013 to 2018.

About the late Hadi Soesastro

Hadi Soesastro (1945 – 2010) was one of Indonesia’s foremost economists and he was well regarded both nationally and internationally. Hadi’s trail of thoughts can be found in all processes and ideas on architecture of regional cooperation such as ASEAN and APEC, and many other multilateral forums (Pangestu, 2010).

A tremendous loss was felt with his passing, not only in Indonesia, but also amongst international academics and policy makers. “Professor Hadi Soesastro fostered warm relations between Australians and Indonesians,” Australia’s Foreign Minister Bob Carr said when announcing the creation of the Australia Awards Hadi Soesastro Prize in April 2013.

The late Hadi Soesastro was a co-founder of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and an adjunct professor at the Australian National University. He also received an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the Australian National University in July 2009. Pak Hadi, as we call him, has long been one of the strongest supporters of ANU Indonesia Project.

Summary of the Hadi Soesastro Policy Forums

The sixth Hadi Soesastro Policy Forum was held on 9 July 2018. Professor Prema-chandra Athukorala from The Australian National University presented the 2018 lecture titled Joining global production network: has Indonesia missed the boat?. Following the lecture, the Indonesian Minister of Finance HE Sri Mulyani Indrawati launched the 2017 Indonesia Update book, Indonesia in the new world: globalisation, nationalism and sovereignty, edited by Arianto Patunru, Mari Pangestu, and M Chatib Basri. After a discussion of the book, Mari Pangestu from the CSIS Foundation delivered the closing remarks.

The fifth Hadi Soesastro Policy Forum was held on 4 July 2017. Professor Peter Drysdale from The Australian National University presented the 2017 lecture titled Why Indonesia must show the way on trade strategy. Following the lecture, the Indonesian Minister of Communication and Information HE Rudiantara launched the 2017 Indonesia Update book, Digital Indonesia: connectivity and divergence, edited by Edwin Jurriens and Ross Tapsell.

The fourth Hadi Soesastro Policy Forum was held on 1 June 2016. Dr Chia Siow Yue from Singapore Institute of International Affairs presented the 2016 lecture titled ASEAN’s economic directions and challenges and the pivotal role of Indonesia. The lecture was followed by the launch of the 2016 Indonesia Update book Land and development in Indonesia: searching for the people’s sovereignty, edited by John McCarthy and Katherine Robinson. The 2016 forum also featured a special panel on the ASEAN Economic Community.

The third Hadi Soesastro Policy Forum was held on 10 June 2015. Dr Stephen Grenville AO from the Lowy Institute for International Policy presented the 2015 lecture titled Deepening of the Indonesian financial sector. The lecture was followed by the launch of the 2014 Indonesia Update book The Yudhoyono presidency: Indonesia’s decade of stability and stagnation, edited by Edward Aspinall, Marcus Mietzner and Dirk Tomsa. The forum ended with the annual political and economics update.

The second Hadi Soesastro Policy Forum was held on 9 June 2014. Professor Iwan Jaya Azis from Cornell University presented the 2014 lecture titled Asia in the current global liquidity: Dancing with the system. The lecture was followed by the launch of the 2013 Indonesia Update book Regional dynamics in a decentralised Indonesia, edited by Hal Hill, by the Indonesian Minister of Finance His Excellency Dr M Chatib Basri. The forum ended with political and economics updates in Indonesia, by Philips Vermonte from the Centre of Strategic and International Studies and Sjamsu Rahardja from the World Bank.

The first Hadi Soesastro Policy Forum was held on 30 May 2013. Professor Hal Hill from The Australian National University presented the 2013 lecture titled Does East Asia have a financial safety net?. This was followed by the updates on recent economics and politics in Indonesia, by Jose Rizal from the Centre of Strategic and International Studies and Sandra Hamid from the Asia Foundation. The forum also featured the launch of the 2012 Indonesia Update book Education in Indonesia, edited by Gavin Jones and Daniel Suryadarma.