The Management Institute of the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Indonesia (LM FEB UI), on July 4-6, 2022 visited and discussed with the IMD World Competitiveness Center (IMD WCY), IMD Business School, in Lausanne, Switzerland. As a partner in Indonesia since 2017 in organizing the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking issued by IMD WCY, the discussion held at Conference Room N102, IMD campus in Laussane aims to strengthen cooperation between LM FEB UI and IMD WCY, not limited to the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking. Chief Delegation on the visit, Dr. Willem A. Makaliwe as Managing Director of LM FEB UI at the beginning of the discussion said that as a partner in Indonesia, LM FEB UI was widely asked for opinions and from policy makers across agencies related to the World Competitiveness Ranking issued by IMD. LM FEB UI sees that the government’s awareness andconcern regarding making the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking a reference for measuring national competitiveness is getting higher. Therefore, LM FEB UI considers it necessary to have a more in-depth discussion directly with IMD WCY to confirm several things related to the competitiveness ranking issued by IMD WCY. On the next occasion, Dr. Toto Pranoto as Director of Cooperation of the Universitas Indonesia who also attended the discussion said that the Universitas Indonesia has collaborated with the government, as well as business people in various aspects in order to improve Indonesia’s competitiveness. Universitas Indonesia also always contributes to provide input to the government related to improving Indonesia’s competitiveness. As an IMD partner in Indonesia, LM FEB UI has a strategic role in partnering with the government and industry players to synergize to improve competitiveness in Indonesia.
In line with what was conveyed by Dr. Willem A. Makaliwe and Dr. Toto Pranoto, IMD Chief Economist who hosted the discussion, Dr. Christos Cabolis stated that in his experience discussing with various decision makers and business practitioners in various countries, they often find that sometimes there are different perspectives between the government and industry players in improving the competitiveness of a country. Therefore, IMD WCY stated that there needs to be an effort to harmonize the steps of the government and industry players. Dr. Christos who was also accompanied by Dr. Jose Caballero as IMD Senior Economist said that IMD WCY has been present for more than 30 years in formulating the competitiveness ranking of 65 countries in the world. The 65 countries involved in this ranking basically apply to the IMD and are then evaluated for eligibility by the IMD. Over this long period, the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking has proven to be resilient to various economic crises that have occurred in the world. Thus, they conveyed that the ranking in 2022 and during the Covid-19 pandemic has also been robust to the crisis situation that occurred. During the discussion, Dr. Willem A. Makaliwe also provided input regarding the importance of interdependence between economies in shaping global competitiveness. This was responded positively by Dr. Christos Cabolis who appreciated it. Every year, IMD conducts a sharpening of indicators where some indicators that are no longer relevant, such as the number of fixed lines in a country along with the digitalization of communication are no longer included. IMD always strives to sharpen the measurement of IMD World Competitiveness Ranking every year and the role of partners in each country is very crucial in bridging the conditions that occur in the country and the ranking issued by IMD.
The meeting ended with lunch and informal discussions. On this occasion, IMD WCY said that the role of IMD partners in the future is increasingly important and highly appreciates LM FEB UI as a partner in Indonesia who discusses and provides insights related to competitiveness conditions in Indonesia. In 2022, LM FEB UI with the support and discussion with the Ministry of Investment / BKPM also provided updated data that was not previously available. Dr. Christos at the end of the meeting expressed openness regarding further collaboration with the Universitas Indonesia in the future.
