“Indonesia has geographical advantages and trust from Muslim countries. We are ready to connect Muslim businesspeople with real business opportunities, from partnership to big investment,” he said on Wednesday at the Indonesia-Business 57+ (B57+) Roundtable, which was held in conjunction with the Indonesia Economic Summit (IES) 2026 in Jakarta.

“And we are also open to cooperation with global investors who are interested in the Islamic economy.”

The B57+ business forum is designed as an inclusive platform that brings together governments, businesspeople and international partners to discuss concrete strategies to strengthen economic connectivity among Islamic countries and their strategic partners.

Indonesia is positioned as a main cooperation node through the establishment of the B57+ Asia-Pacific chapter during IES 2026.

“The initiative is aimed at uniting leaders from the private sector from the Organization for Islamic Cooperation [OIC] to strengthen trade, investment and economic collaboration in the world’s Islamic markets,” Arsjad said.

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“Islamic countries have tremendous market scales and production bases, but the potential can be maximized through stronger connectivity in which Indonesia could become the center.”

The Islamic economic performance has grown strongly, with the halal sector amounting to US$2.43 trillion in 2023 and is expected to reach $3.36 trillion by 2028. The Islamic finance sector showed even greater growth, with asset values expected to rise from $4.93 trillion to $7.53 trillion in the same period.

According to “State of Global Islamic Economy Report 2024-2025”, Indonesia ranked third in the global Islamic economy, after Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.

President of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Development (ICCD) and chairman of the Federation of Saudi Chambers of Commerce, Abdullah Saleh Kamel supported Indonesia’s role in strengthening economic integration in the Islamic world through the B57+ Asia-Pacific regional chapter.

“B57+ provides a practical cooperation framework for businesspeople in Islamic countries to get connected,” he said.

“Indonesia has a vital role in building bridges for cross-region trade and investment.”

Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar also supported the B57+ initiative, saying it was in line with Islamic economic principles of justice and cooperation, and related to the real sector.

“The halal economy is one of the important economic movers in Indonesia,” he said.

“With a large market and integrated from upstream to downstream, the halal economy can push growth, widen financing access and improve Indonesia’s competitiveness in global supply chains.”

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