Yesterday, I welcomed the visit of the CEO of Samsung and we also communicated with the chairman of Hyundai. They see Indonesia as an investment destination because they see how we are dealing with COVID-19Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia is still an investment destination for a number of global companies, mainly thanks to the government's handling of COVID-19, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, has said.
"Yesterday, I welcomed the visit of the CEO of Samsung and we also communicated with the chairman of Hyundai. They see Indonesia as an investment destination because they see how we are dealing with COVID-19," he remarked at the launch of the 'Proud of Made in Indonesia Products' national movement #PasarLautIndonesia in Aceh, accessed online from here on Wednesday.
The minister said that success in dealing with COVID-19 is now part of the parameters considered by global investors in determining the placement of investments. However, Indonesia should not be satisfied with the achievements that have been made, he added.
The former Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs said that he had received many messages from colleagues abroad regarding the handling of COVID-19 in Indonesia. One message was from a professor at Columbia University, US, who lauded the efforts made by the Indonesian government to contain coronavirus infections, he informed.
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The handling of COVID-19 in the country has not been simple because of Indonesia's geographical and sociological conditions, the minister noted.
Pandjaitan said he had also received a proposal from a medical school in Boston, US, regarding the handling of COVID-19 and had found that the Indonesian government had followed all the measures in the proposal.
"The proposal mentioned all the efforts we have made. However, there are several strategies that they did not carry out, namely the role of the army and police, which has been very dominant in disciplining the community so that all programs can be executed. Then, they also did not carry out the PeduliLindungi program. That is one of our strategies to control COVID-19," he observed.
Furthermore, the minister said that the investment interest of global companies should be welcomed. Not only Samsung and Hyundai, companies from China and the United Arab Emirates have also expressed their commitment to invest in Indonesia, he noted.
He said he had asked South Korea's Samsung to invest in high-tech industries in Indonesia.
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"I encouraged Samsung to invest in high-tech industries. And they are considering it. I asked about the possible incentives they need because we have them all. We have downstream industries for nickel, bauxite, iron sand, tin, palm oil and others," the minister added.
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Translator: Ade irma Junida, Katriana
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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