With the Rembele Airport becoming operational, it will only take 45 minutes to reach the region."
Bener Meriah (ANTARA News) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has urged the local administrations of Bener Meriah District and Aceh Province to develop infrastructure to attract investment and to boost the regional economy.

"The expansion of Rembele Airport would be of no use if there is no further development to create investment opportunities," Jokowi stated here on Wednesday.

The president remarked that some efforts to be undertaken by the local administrations to boost the economic condition included streamlining the process to issue business and investment license permits.

Jokowi also called on the administration to promote the tourism attractions in Bener Meriah District.

"The regional administration should conduct promotional activities to highlight the areas various interesting tourism spots, such as the Laut Tawar Lake and the scenery of the mountainous area. Therefore, this will draw the interest of tourists to visit the district," Jokowi affirmed.

The regional administration must coordinate with the Tourism Ministry and the North Sumatra provincial administration to promote the potential tourism attractions.

Jokowi has urged that tourism promotion activities should be organized in coordination with other stakeholders to attract tourists to the area.

The president said he had urged all ministers to support the development, starting from Indonesias remote areas.

"Usually, it takes 11 to 12 hours of travel time by road from Bener Meriah in Central Aceh to Medan in North Sumatra Province. With the Rembele Airport becoming operational, it will only take 45 minutes to reach the region," Jokowi pointed out.

The head of state noted that the government had improved interconnectivity by developing the airport in a remote area.

Additionally, the president also emphasized that Indonesia had entered an era of competition in the face of the ASEAN Economic Community.

"A country that immediately responds to economic progress will be the winner in the competition," Jokowi affirmed.

Jokowi urged the cities and districts in Indonesia to lead the competition by ensuring coordination and communication to develop the regions.

"I urged the people to utilize the airport properly. There should be cooperation with some airline companies, including for boosting the flow of passengers and cargo. Therefore, local commodities can be delivered to Banda Aceh, Medan, and even Singapore as well as Malaysia as part of the borderless trade," the president added.
(Uu.B019/INE/KR-BSR/A014)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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