Meanwhile, some ASEAN countries, including Indonesia, are working hard to get out of the middle-income trap. Thus, we need a new engine for economic growth.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy for Economic Affairs of the Indonesian National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Amalia Adninggar Widyasanti invited ASEAN member countries to optimize the blue economy as a new driver for growth to improve regional economic security.

"We need high economic growth in a sustainable and inclusive way," she told participants of the
Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on the Development of the ASEAN Blue Economy Framework in Belitung District, Bangka Belitung Islands Province, as monitored virtually from Jakarta on Wednesday.

The blue economy is one of the potentials that the ASEAN member countries can utilize together as a new source of growth for making their economy strong, Widyasanti stated.

She noted that currently, ASEAN's economic growth is on a downward trend, so the region needs a new growth driver.

Moreover, most ASEAN member countries seek to advance, from being lower-middle income nations to become upper middle-income countries, the deputy remarked.

“Meanwhile, some ASEAN countries, including Indonesia, are working hard to get out of the middle-income trap. Thus, we need a new engine for economic growth," she remarked.

Hence, she assessed that it is crucial to develop the blue economy, considering the vast marine resource potentials.

Widyasanti noted that the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) projects that the added value of marine resources will reach around US$30 trillion by 2030.

However, the blue economy potentials had yet to be fully explored, including in the ASEAN region, she pointed out.

"(By optimizing marine resources), we will not only strengthen the economy but we can also unlock our economic potential and achieve high growth in the future," she stated.

The deputy remarked that "ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth" was selected as the theme of Indonesia’s chairmanship of ASEAN in 2023 since the region had various advantages to become the anchor of global stability and the center of global growth in the future.

"…ASEAN actually has (many) potentials for (regional) development. Thus, we need to collaborate and work together to optimize our economic potentials. I want to reemphasize that the blue economy truly has the potential (to serve as a new driver) for economic growth," she added.

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Translator: Baqir Alatas, Uyu Liman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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