"We are optimistic that the national industry will grow and we can improve it, as in with national power, it would support national industry," Director General of Metal, Machinery, Transportation, and Electronic Equipment at the Industry Ministry Taufiek Bawazir said at a webinar on “Prospects of Indonesia's Economic Recovery Amid Global Geopolitical Changes Post-Pandemic,” held on Tuesday.
The national economy has shown some growth and stability, which, in turn, has reflected an improvement in the national industry, he pointed out. "It means that our capacity to face many (challenges) has been proven, and we can survive," he said.
The industry is the driver of the national economy because it has contributed the most to economic recovery, he noted. This was evident in the period from 1986 to 2021 although the contribution saw some decrease, which could be attributed to downstreaming, he opined.
Downstreaming led to a uniform contribution from the manufacturing sector and other sectors, such as mining, agriculture, fishery, and plantation sectors.
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"The 19 percent of industry's contribution at this time shows that the industry is mature and distributed to other sectors. So, it can be said that this is a fairly strong downstreaming," he elaborated.
He said that industrial growth during 2020–2021 has been proof that national economic recovery has proceeded well after the pandemic.
In addition, Indonesia is also considered to be a destination country for investment, which can be seen from the global competitive index, in which Indonesia has ranked sixth.
"So, with a population of 270 million people, when combined with ASEAN capped at 600 million, investors also see that Indonesia has many prospects from the market point of view, as well as from the investment point of view," Bawazir said.
Another indicator that has instilled a sense of optimism is that Indonesia has the necessary skills to navigate the digital era, supported by the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and changes in behavior toward the environment.
The last indicator has been the national Purchasing Manufacturing Index (PMI), which has been at an expansive level for ten months, proving that the manufacturing aspect has some strength to it.
"Of course, this is assisted by other sectors. Yes, we can say that the policies conducted by the government have been quite effective in efforts to (pursue) economic recovery," he added.
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Translator: Sella P G, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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