In dealing with the current COVID-19 pandemic, the government has from the start been very serious about taking steps, both in handling the health aspect, including the vaccination program, as well as social protection to reduce burden on the affecteJakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo stressed that reform and transformation of the economic structure continued amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Jokowi made the remarks at the Investor Daily Summit 2021, delivered virtually and witnessed in Jakarta, Tuesday.
"In dealing with the current COVID-19 pandemic, the government has from the start been very serious about taking steps, both in handling the health aspect, including the vaccination program, as well as social protection to reduce burden on the affected community," the president explained.
The head of state underscored that the pandemic should not become an obstacle to structural reforms.
The president stressed on the need for Indonesians to capitalize on this momentum to expedite structural reforms.
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"We have done this through one of the measures, including the issuance of the Job Creation Law and various derivative regulations," the president pointed out.
The head of state noted that Indonesia's economic structure, with public consumption constituting an over 50-percent contribution in it so far, must slowly be shifted to a productive production sector by encouraging industrialization, downstreaming, and investment as well as increasing exports.
"Especially in the current pandemic conditions, investment is the main key in recovery and accelerating economic growth," the president emphasized.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati earlier stated that structural reforms being conducted by the Indonesian government are expected to support high economic growth of above six percent by 2025.
"Indonesia's economic growth is expected to increase with the contribution of structural reforms," the minister stated at the Central Development Coordination Meeting (Rakorbangpus) in Jakarta on Thursday.
The structural reforms cover five strategic policies centering on human resource development, infrastructure development, bureaucratic reform, simplification of regulations, and economic transformation, according to the minister.
Indrawati noted that the success of structural reforms would shift the trajectory of economic growth and accelerate growth to above six percent.
The minister believes that in the absence of structural reforms, economic performance will return to the business as usual (BAU) level of around five percent and lead to productivity losses to the tune of Rp2,301 trillion during the 2021-2025 period.
However, through suitable structural reforms, an economic growth of 5.8 percent could be achieved in 2022 and 5.3 percent this year, Indrawati stated.
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Translator: Rangga J, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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