Geoeconomics and Economic Transformation
The University of Sydney
Sydney, NSW
I spoke at Plenary Session 1 of KIPI 2026, the 11th Indonesian Students’ International Conference organised by PPIA (Perhimpunan Pelajar Indonesia di Australia), under the conference theme “Navigating Global Uncertainty with Clarity and Purpose.”
The talk makes three points. First, uncertainty is structural: geopolitical risk has been elevated since 2022, and governments worldwide now announce roughly twice as many interventions per year as they did in the 2010s, mostly for national-security and supply-chain reasons. Second, trade is beginning to reorganise along geopolitical blocs — but nonaligned “connector” countries are gaining, not losing. Third, Indonesia and Australia are natural connectors: the 2026 urea deal (MV Medi Luna, Brisbane) shows how chokepoint risk can be answered with a partner’s surplus capacity under agreements we already have, like IA-CEPA.
My name is Krisna, some call me Imed. I am an advisor at the Indonesian National Economic Council. My research is about trade and investment policy and how it affects Indonesian firms. I use some structured equation such as GTAP model, but also do some empirics like gravity models.
I lecture at Universitas Indonesia. Additionally, I assume a senior fellow position at Center for Indonesian Policy Studies.
I contributed to several projects with Bank Indonesia, Bappenas, ADB, Prospera, and ERIA, among others. Occasional oped writer, typically at Kompas, Jakarta Post and East Asia Forum. Please see CV or contact me for more information.