The president was accompanied by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, Coordinating Minister for Economy Darmin Nasution, and Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan to receive the World Yong Kim and his delegation at 11 a.m. Western Indonesian Standard Time (WIB).
"I knew from Mulyani that you had planned a visit this week as part of a trip ahead of next years World Bank-IMF meeting in Bali," Jokowi said while receiving Kim and the delegation.
Jokowi also expressed his appreciation for the strong partnership between his government and the World Bank over the years.
"The World Bank has helped us improve the structure and quality or fiscal expenditures. It has helped us in eradicating poverty, investing in human capital such as improving health and education, and addressing the impacts of climate change," he remarked.
Jokowi also expressed his gratitude to the World Bank for upgrading the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) index from 106 to 91.
"I know you are here to say that this year, the World Bank will provide upgrades again," said the president.
After the meeting with Jokowi, Yong Kim remarked in a press conference that the reason for his visit was because Indonesia and Jokowi have great ideals for the country and people.
"Indonesia has a growth rate of more than 5 percent, which will make it the envy of the majority of countries in the world," Kim remarked.
He said that the World Banks partnership with Indonesia was very close because he had been working with Sri Mulyani for four years in the World Bank Group.
Earlier at 9 a.m. WIB, Jokowi also received the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) President Shinichi Kitaoka and his delegation at the Merdeka Palace.
Kitaoka remarked in a press conference that his visit to Indonesia was the first of its kind as the president of JICA.
"I have visited this country five or six times in the past, and each time I came here, I was surprised to know the developments and rapid economic growth," Kitaoka noted.
The JICA president noted that his meeting with Jokowi was held to discuss various issues, including Mass Rapid Transport, Patimbang Port in Subang, and a high-speed train project along the northern lane of Java Island.
In the meantime, Mulyani explained that JICA had also participated in solving clean water and sanitation issues.
"Japan has rich expertise in water treatment technology, and they have some development experience in small island areas, as they are also archipelagic countries," Mulyani noted.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
