Jakarta (ANTARA) - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati attended the invitation to the World Bank Regional Leadership Team Meeting for East Asia and the Pacific in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Monday.

"In this event, I met with policymakers from East Asian and Pacific countries to exchange challenges and opportunities that occur in each country," she said in an official statement released on Tuesday.

Indonesia is currently formulating the state budget for the 2024 fiscal year, she noted. Next year, Indonesia will focus on utilizing the state budget for priority programs.

The budget utilization will also cover financing for handling the impact of climate change, an issue on which Indonesia has been very vocal at various international forums.

In addition, Indonesia has continued to conduct its digital transformation, which is currently exerting a major impact on the economy, Indrawati said.

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The minister also commended the support that the World Bank has provided to Indonesia throughout this time in its sustainable and resilient development mission, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic recovery period.

"We expect that this support will continue, including toward developing countries in East Asia and the Pacific that need help," she said.

Earlier, Indonesia had submitted a fund proposal to the World Bank to prepare for future pandemics.

“The inking of Indonesia's proposal for the pandemic fund serves as a milestone for this nation in the effort to better prepare our country in detecting and tackling pandemics in the future," Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said here on May 19, 2023.

The application for the donation fund began with the sending of a proposal to the World Bank, which was inked by a number of representatives from the Indonesian government.

The proposal was handed over to the World Bank’s country director for Indonesia and Timor-Leste, Satu Kahkonen.

Related news: Minister thanks WB for supporting achievement of development targets

Translator: Agatha Olivia V, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
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