Denpasar, Bali (ANTARA) - Vice President Jusuf Kalla is eager that Indonesia drives its technological development to enhance its ranking in the Global Innovation Index (GII).

"We all realize that we lag behind many other countries. Among the 120 countries surveyed by the Global Innovation Index, we rank 89th, while Singapore and Malaysia rank 5th and 30th respectively. We are only ahead of Cambodia (in Southeast Asia)," he stated at a function marking National Technological Awakening Day in Denpasar, Bali, on Wednesday.

Indonesia must work hard and take a cue from advanced nations to adopt the phases of technological development. One of the countries is China that makes rapid technological progress, he stated.

Related news: Innovation if commercialized can be of value: VP

Related news: Indonesian minister encourages digital-technology based railway operations

"We need to work hard. China is making rapid progress in the technological field. We can emulate, improve, increase, and innovate (technology). These are the phases (of technological progress) that we can adopt from China and Japan. No countries make progress without innovations. Technology is something that develops and must pass through processes," he emphasized.

He noted that China only had 2,500 universities, while Indonesia had 4,500 universities, thereby translating to the fact that the large number of universities is not always relevant to the technology they invented.

He highlighted their intensity, sincerity, focus, and researches as significant.

To make progress, each innovation must be able to increase added value, backed by efforts, sciences, togetherness, and research. Moreover, innovation can create efficiency as well as offer low cost and time.

Related news: BPPT, Korea concur on cooperation for development of green technology

Related news: The House approves science and technology bill


Translator: Ayu Khania Pranishita, Suharto
Editor: Azizah Fitriyanti
Copyright © ANTARA 2019