H

aving witnessed the colossal celebrations, with thousands thronging the streets of the capital following the inauguration of our new President, it may have slipped everyone'€™s mind that the man being rallied behind had an unpretentious beginning.

Before he was catapulted to fame, President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo was a thriving furniture salesman. Perhaps this was one of the reasons why he made his now famous remark in one of the presidential debates, proposing that ambassadors should work like salesmen.

President Jokowi has put his words into action by appointing former Indonesian ambassador to the Netherlands Retno LP Marsudi as the new foreign minister.

Economic affairs are no stranger to her, since she has relentlessly taken part in our economic diplomacy, including by facilitating the Indonesia-Netherlands Comprehensive Partnership agreement, which among other things encompasses cooperation on trade, investment and infrastructure.

She also successfully orchestrated the annual Indonesian Night Fair in The Hague, which in 2013 resulted in over US$22 million in trade contracts, up by 20 percent from that in the previous year.  She pledged to prioritize economic diplomacy.

Why does salesman diplomacy matter? Our economic growth is mainly attributed to domestic consumption, which accounts for around 55 percent of our economy, whereas international trade only makes up around a third of our gross domestic product (GDP) with a lingering deficit.

While it has insulated our economy from external shocks, it also signifies humongous potential benefits from the international economy such as trade, which our country has yet to harness.

As we have seen from the trail of the Asian tigers, exports can be a powerhouse for development. We need a more balanced economic structure in which international economic partnerships, including trade and investment, can contribute more to our development.

The most formidable challenges lie at home from our insufficient infrastructure to our dawdling competitiveness, but there is no point in making state-of-the-art products when those beyond our shores are completely in the dark about them.

This is exactly why the vigorous economic diplomacy as envisioned by Jokowi through his salesman diplomacy is indispensable.

Some may suspect the government has dropped the ball on economic diplomacy. Such a claim is misleading. The insinuation is rooted in the perception that our diplomacy is too wrapped up in political hullabaloo, while the road to prosperity requires peace and stability, which depends on our constructive involvement to mitigate political predicaments. How can there be buoyant economic growth if the dispute over the South China Sea explodes into full-scale war?

Notwithstanding the fact that the government has clearly got the ball rolling, it is equally true that the government can certainly go the extra mile on economic diplomacy.

Our government has facilitated numerous trade expos and business forums. Nevertheless, much remains to be desired. We might not need to concoct a brand new formula. What we should do is simply step it up a gear.

The government needs to reaffirm its economic priorities to guide the conduct of salesman diplomacy. For instance, the current administration might want to focus on the blue economy and manufacturing industry to boost exports, whereas infrastructure would be the spotlight for investment.

Effective economic diplomacy requires a set of skills that not everyone has. For instance, one of the most common methods for economic diplomacy is market intelligence, through which we can connect our competitive products with their potential market. To this end, there should be more training and courses to equip our diplomats with the necessary expertise.  

One of the most daunting challenges is the fact that there is a patchwork of various government institutions implementing economic diplomacy on both national and regional levels. Robust coordination among these agencies as well as with the private sector both at home and abroad is vital.

The government already has targets for economic diplomacy but they can be devised to be more specific, measurable and time bound, for example regarding the increase in exports and investment. Different government institutions must share ultimate objectives and there should be rewards if the targets are met so as to encourage better performance.

President Jokowi'€™s success as a furniture dealer is intertwined with his participation in numerous trade expos overseas as the media have reported. He experienced firsthand how a flourishing business could lift people out of the abyss of poverty and how '€œsalesmanship'€ abroad transformed that into reality.

Through salesman diplomacy, the government is committed to lending a hand to our businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises, to follow in Jokowi'€™s footsteps.

When it comes to salesman diplomacy, our government is already walking in the right direction. Now it is time for us to run.  

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The writers work for the Foreign Ministry. The views expressed are their own.