Jakarta (ANTARA) - Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has expressed the hope that the corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs run by the private sector would support the development of village-owned enterprises (BUMDes) and boost the economic empowerment of rural communities.

"CSR by private sector, which aims to help BUMDes, is expected to empower rural communities in creating a strong and equal national economic structure," he said at an awards ceremony for state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and private companies running CSR programs and Nusantara tourism village promotion in Jakarta on Thursday.

Amin lauded the idea by the Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration (Kemendes PDTT) and the Indonesia Social Sustainability Forum (ISSF) to award CSR programs run by SOEs and private companies.

The awards are expected to motivate SOEs and private companies to continue supporting the development of BUMDes.

The Vice President emphasized that village development will be central to Indonesia's future development. This is because strong and independent villages could help realize the Advanced Indonesia goal.
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Amin also said he hoped that the support for BUMDes would translate into the utilization of local potential through business and provide benefits to village communities.

Until 2021, there were 23.24 percent villages categorized as underdeveloped and very underdeveloped based on data from the Building Village Index (IDM). Therefore, Amin asked Kemendes PDTT to work hard to eliminate those categories by 2024.

The government has continued to take steps to empower the rural economy, including through tourism villages development programs such as the establishment of halal tourism villages as a form of inclusive community-based tourism for empowering human resources and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

According to data from the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, there were 7,275 tourism villages in Indonesia in 2021.

The tourism villages mostly need support to develop their area by building stakeholder awareness on promoting them and drawing domestic and foreign tourists.

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Translator: Rangga Pandu A J, Resinta S
Editor: Sri Haryati
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