Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, on April 12, 2021, Hannover Messe 2021 was officially opened. It is the first time in the trade fair’s 74 years history that the conference is done completely in a digital format with speakers, exhibitors and visitors participating in a web-based format. 

It is a particularly important Hannover Messe for Indonesia, which was chosen as the trade fair’s partner country for 2020 before the event was postponed to 2021 due to the Corona crisis. Not only is the event an opportunity to showcase Indonesia’s capability in adapting to the technological requirements of Hannover Messe 2021, it also serves to strengthen Indonesia’s political and commercial ties with Germany, which is one of Indonesia’s longest trade partners.

“It is an honor for Indonesia to be the country partner of Hannover Messe 2021 for the second time after 26 years,” said Mr. Widodo in his opening speech, which was directly broadcasted to Hannover Messe’s web platform from the Indonesian State Palace in Jakarta.

He continued to praise the trade fair for adopting the theme of technological transformation, “which makes it the most relevant trade fair” amidst the various challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. He also noted the strategic parallel between Hannover Messe and Indonesia’s own industrial roadmap of “Making Indonesia 4.0”, in which the country aims to achieve the level of industrial sophistication that has already been implemented by countries like Germany to its own natural resource-rich economy. By adopting Industry 4.0 practices, Mr. Widodo aims to see Indonesia becoming a top 10 world economy by 2030.

In his speech, Mr. Widodo also took the opportunity to boast Indonesia’s fast growing digital economy with over 2,000 startups – the fifth largest in the world – 5 unicorns and one decacorn. It has been projected that Indonesia’s digital economy would contribute up to US$133 billion to Indonesia’s national GDP by 2025. He also recognized Indonesia’s need for investments and technology transfer and that the country has made real and concrete strides in reforming its bureaucracy. 

Finally, Mr. Widodo asked Germany to partner with Indonesia in jumpstarting the country’s digital transformation, further expressing his hope that Indonesia’s participation in Hannover Messe will be a strong step forward in that direction.

Chancellor Merkel, in her final opening speech as chancellor for the trade fair, welcomed Indonesia as the country partner of Hannover Messe 2021, saying that Indonesia has been one of Germany’s strongest trade partners and recognizes that Indonesia has so much more to offer than just simply being a tourism destination. She expressed Germany’s desire to see stronger relations in the field of vocational education in facing the various challenges posed by wave of digital transformation. 

According to data from Hannover Messe, over 1,800 exhibiting companies will be showcasing their solutions for factories and energy systems of the future in this five-day event. Indonesia brought along 156 exhibitors to the event, comprised of state ministries and institutions, state-owned companies, universities and private entities. In the trade fair, approximately 7,000 products will be on display, including 1,700 tradeshow premieres and almost 400 R&D projects. The program – which includes 750 live exhibitor streams, 750 product videos and 11 exhibitor channels – provides visitors with concrete solutions for optimizing industrial processes via best-case applications, video tutorials and video chats. 

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and Indonesian President Joko Widodo opened the world’s largest trade fair for industrial technology, with the latter calling it “the most relevant trade fair in today’s global pandemic situation.”

Hannover Messe 2021: A Vision of National Industry on Going Globally

Indonesia foresees that the Hannover Messe 2021 will be an important momentum for Indonesia in spurring its national branding as well as encouraging manufacturing capabilities and development of digital infrastructure to improve within the country. The international event is also expected to bring up the world industry’s view of Indonesia’s great potency in forging partnerships towards industrial transformation 4.0.

“The Hannover Messe 2021 is a great opportunity for Indonesia to manifest its industrial vision and introduce the roadmap for Making Indonesia 4.0 globally,” said the Director General of Resilience, Zoning and International Industrial Access (KPAII) of the Ministry of Industry, Eko S.A. Cahyanto in Jakarta, Thursday (4/2).

He explained that participation in the Hannover Messe will be the best opportunity for Indonesia, not only to perform benchmarking towards industrial technology 4.0, but also to gain a number of potential investments to Indonesia.” In addition, we are optimistic that by participating in this event, it will contribute to the national and global economic recovery due to current pandemic’s impact,” he said.

Therefore, the government of Indonesia encourages industry players in Indonesia to involve in this prestigious and largest industrial technology exhibition in the world, which is planned to be held digitally on April 12-16, 2021. Furthermore, Hannover Messe 2021 will feature digitization of product presentations, comprehensive programs, and software-based business matchmaking, hence, directly represent breakthroughs, innovations in the exhibition of industrial solutions technology.

“This new format also allows us to reconnect, collaborate in finding solutions for industrial transformation. Therefore, my point is, don’t be afraid of change. You may end up losing something good, but you will probably end up gaining something better “, he explained.

Additionally, according to Eko, Indonesia’s participation in the Hannover Messe will also strengthen bilateral relations between Indonesia and Germany. Moreover, economic cooperation between Indonesia and Germany has been well established so far and is a top priority in the partnership between the two countries.

“Due to the multi-dimensional nature of the Indonesian and German economies, the sectors are not limited solely to trade and investment,” he said. Other strategic sectors that also support bilateral economic cooperation between the two countries, inter alia collaborations on sustainable development, health, environment, climate, social and labor, energy, infrastructure, and transportation.

Eko expressed his gratitude to Deutsche Messe AG and the German Government for the continuous support that has been given to Indonesia. “We are confident these difficult times will soon be over, and the Hannover Messe 2021 event in digital format can be held successfully,” he said.