Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government has focused on poverty eradication, creation of employment and narrowing down of social gap as part of the efforts to accelerate the national development program.

"During the year of the acceleration of development, the government focuses on three breakthrough steps for the eradication of poverty, unemployment, social gap and imbalance," President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said in his state of the national address during a joint session of the House of Representatives (DPR) and the Regional Legislative Council (DPD) here, Tuesday, in connection with the 71st anniversary of the Indonesian Independence.

The three steps are respectively the acceleration of infrastructure development, human resources and productive capacity building, and deregulation and debureaucracy.

Infrastructure development will strengthen connectivity and narrow down social gap and imbalances, he said.

The acceleration of logistic infrastructure development include constructions of roads, seaports, airports and railways, while strategic infrastructure development covers among other things power plants, telecommunication networks, irrigation system, and public housing.

The Joint Session was chaired by House Speaker Ade Komaruddin and was attended by Chairman of the Peoples Consultative Assembly Zulkifli Hasan and DPD Chairman Irman Gusman, among others.

Former president J Habibie, former president Megawati Sukarnoputri, former vice president Try Sutrisno, and former vice president Boediono were among those present at the meeting.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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