The Association of Indonesian Regency Governments (Apkasi) officially organized the 2026 Regional Business Forum (Forbisda) in Deli Serdang Regency, North Sumatra, on Thursday (July 2, 2026). The event, coinciding with Apkasi's 26th anniversary, serves as a strategic platform for regency governments to build partnerships with the national private sector in an effort to strengthen the domestic economy.
General Chair of Apkasi, Bursah Zarnubi, emphasized that this event is a concrete step toward shifting reliance from extractive industries to the sustainable downstreaming of biological commodities. According to him, the construction of agricultural processing facilities should be located closer to regional production hubs so that economic added value can be felt directly by local communities, rather than being concentrated on Java Island.
During the forum, several inter-regional trade agreements were reached, including an inflation control partnership between Deli Serdang Regency and Simalungun Regency. Furthermore, the private sector actively participated, notably through a shallot trade partnership between PT Juma Berlian from North Sumatra and CV Sudah Ada from Brebes Regency, aimed at shortening the national food distribution chain.
Executive Director of Apkasi, Sarman Simanjorang, explained that Forbisda 2026 was designed as a meeting point between the supply side from regional heads and the demand side from the business world. Regents from various regions, ranging from Banyuasin to Gorontalo, presented the top potential of their respective regions to national business players to explore business-to-business (B2B) investment opportunities.
Support for this synergy also came from the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) and the Ministry of Trade. Stakeholders agreed that the collaboration established in this forum is an essential asset for strengthening the domestic market, suppressing inflation, and implementing President Prabowo Subianto's Asta Cita vision to advance the economy from the regency level.
