"If we want to become a developed country and be remembered by the world, the only way is to move forward and become a rich state," Kalla said.Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Vice President Jusuf Kalla said that only rich and "rogue" states could gain world attention; therefore, Indonesia must be a developed country to get global attention.
"If we want to become a developed country and be remembered by the world, the only way is to move forward and become a rich state," Kalla said during a national working meeting of Lembang Institute here on Monday.
The vice president pointed out that Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Sauds visit to Indonesia has drawn the attention of mass media in the past week.
"This is because the king and his entourage are famous people. Television channels constantly report the kings day-to-day activities because is a famous personality who rules a rich country," he stated.
Besides being a rich country, a "rogue state" like North Korea could also draw the world attention.
"Our country is neither rich nor rogue; hence, our country does not make headlines. When I visit different places, it is just reported as minor news in the paper. But if a Chinese official goes on a visit, it is reported live on a television channel such as CNN. News from India and Japan has also started to be widely reported. But when we look at the developing countries, they get less attention," he underlined.
Hence, according to Kalla, Indonesia must become a developed country and not depend on assistance and investment from other countries to gain global attention.
"For example, when the Saudi king is here we asked the Saudi government will invest in Indonesia. But we do not consider how much investment we have in Saudi Arabia, where 1.2 million people from our country work every year," he said.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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