Indonesia’s “Golden 2045 Vision” is laser focused on spurring growth and accelerating innovation. And artificial intelligence is critical to that vision.

That’s where the newly announced Indonesia AI Center of Excellence comes in. The linchpin of a national initiative, it aims to use this powerful technology in the most impactful, ethical, and innovative ways. And key partners include the Ministry of Communications and Digital Affairs of Indonesia (KOMDIGI); Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, the largest Indonesian telecom; NVIDIA, and Cisco.

Speaking at an opening ceremony in Jakarta last week, Cisco chair and CEO Chuck Robbins shared his thoughts on a groundbreaking announcement.

“Cisco is proud to build on over 25 years of partnership with Indonesia's public and private sectors to help shape their digital future,” he said.

“The AI era demands fundamental architectural shifts and a workforce with the digital skills to thrive,” Robbins continued. “Together with KOMDIGI, Indosat and NVIDIA, Cisco will securely power the AI Centre of Excellence — enabling innovation, skills development, and accelerating Indonesia's economic growth.”

The AI center of Excellence is designed to advance sovereign AI capabilities that will support all Indonesians. The initiative reaches across rural and urban boundaries, while accelerating progress in corporations, startups, and the government. And it places particular importance on upskilling the next generation of AI-empowered workers — with support from the Cisco Networking Academy — while informing every effort with ethical guidelines for AI usage and data protection.

“This collaboration proves that digital sovereignty can be built together,” said Meutya Hafid, minister of communication and digital affairs for the Republic of Indonesia. “We want Indonesia to be more than just a technology market — we want it to be a home for innovation and the creation of AI technologies that are relevant to the nation’s needs.”

Secure, innovative, and accessible

Of course, the AI Center for Excellence places cybersecurity front and center. And its Sovereign Security Operations Center (SOC) is powered by Cisco Splunk and Cisco’s Managed Security Services. These will enable AI-powered threat detection, localized data controls, and seamless integration with national infrastructure.

Jeetu Patel, Cisco’s president and chief product officer, was also on hand for the opening ceremony. He stressed how Cisco’s intelligent infrastructure will play a decisive role in building trust.

“When you think about sovereign infrastructure, we have to make sure that it's safe and secure,” Patel said. “And that's what we're trying to do here with the partnership collaboratively between NVIDIA and Indosat. We are focused on making sure that it's a very trusted system. And that everyone who's using AI feels that it's safe and feels that it's secure.”

Ultimately, the AI Center for Excellence is about people. And its approach to technology is centered on empowering, supporting, and building a better, more sustainable quality of life.

“Democratizing AI is more important than ever,” said Ronnie Vasishta, senior vice president of telecom at NVIDIA. “Through strategic collaborations, developer enablement and wireless infrastructure guidance, we’re helping Indonesia build a sustainable AI ecosystem that will help to create a blueprint for how nations can harness AI to uplift every citizen.”

Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program will also continue its longstanding efforts to uplift citizens, particularly through its partnership with the National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia (BRIN). This will support advanced research and supply critical technology to improve infrastructure, education, health care, government services, and more.

But great technology needs skilled people — lots of them. So, Cisco Networking Academy is accelerating its already substantial efforts in Indonesia. Among the largest tech-skills training programs of its kind in the world, NetAcad has trained more than 500,000 Indonesians since 1998 (and more than 25 million globally). And it has set an ambitious goal of training a half-million more Indonesians by 2030. This will help share cutting-edge, job-ready skills — in networking, cybersecurity, AI, and more — across all aspects of Indonesia’s economy and society.

It’s all about positioning Indonesia for a bold future in a fast-changing global economy and technology landscape.

“Indonesia is an important market for Cisco and stands as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies,” said Bee Kheng Tay, president of Cisco ASEAN. “As AI takes center stage, the next era of technology leadership will be driven by organizations with secure infrastructure and a skilled workforce to power it.

As Patel reaffirmed, the overarching goal is to support positive change for all Indonesians.

“Congratulations to all the citizens of Indonesia for this massive announcement,” he said. “I think the future is going to be extremely promising for every citizen of Indonesia.”