In a press release received by ANTARA here on Thursday, Maxima, as the United Nations Secretary-General`s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, explained the importance of global inclusive finance, including in handling poverty in rural areas.
"The visions that are written in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are related to one another. For example, if we are striving for educational advancement, then on the other side, we can also handle poverty issues," she remarked.
In response, Pandjaitan stated that the Indonesian government was currently prioritizing the government funds for the development of rural areas, in a bid to shrink the poverty rate.
Due to the allocation of government funds to the rural areas, the government has started to seek funding alternatives to continue development in major cities.
"We are looking for financial alternatives by involving the private sector, by also considering the environmental and technological innovation aspects," he stated.
After meeting Maxima, who had planned to visit Indonesia back in February, the minister then attended the discussion between figures and state leaders on the development in the Circular Economy Platform Leadership Board Meeting.
The former coordinating minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs also received the visit of Chief Executive Officer Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC), Tadashi Maeda, who had expressed an interest to be more active in investing in infrastructure projects in Indonesia.
He then promised to follow up the JBIC`s intentions.
On the same day, he had previously attended the discussion, involving state leaders, themed `From Pipedream to Pipeline,` which touched on the measures to gain finance support and sustainability for commercially unattractive projects.
"Blended finance can be one of the solutions," he stated.
During the discussion, Pandjaitan was seen sitting alongside Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Peter O`Neill, former US vice president and environmental activist Al Gore, Canadian parliament member Michelle Rempel, Environment Minister of the United Arab Emirates Thani Al Zeyoudi, and a number of other figures.
Reported by Ade Irma Junida
(UU.KR-ARC/INE)
EDITED BY INE/a014
Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
