Hartarto elaborated that among other strategies, the government is currently making major efforts to improve the quality of human resources, draw more investments to create job opportunities, and carry out programs aimed at boosting the added value of natural resources, including the downstream policy.
"Such strategies were responsible for bringing Indonesia to achieve an important milestone, as it reclaimed its status as an upper-middle income country, according to the updated classification released by World Bank in July 2023," he noted in a statement received in Jakarta on Thursday.
Minister Hartarto highlighted the fact that the Rating & Investment Agency has raised Indonesia's outlook, from the status of stable to positive, with its sovereign credit rating remaining unscathed at BBB+ (investment grade).
The minister affirmed that the positive trend is inseparable from the government's success in controlling the inflation rate as well as maintaining the sound level of economic performance and resilience.
Furthermore, he gave credit to the regional governments while stating that they have continued to make valuable contributions to the efforts to optimize the prospects for good investment financing in Indonesia as reflected in Indonesia's favorable rank in the sovereign credit rating.
The minister then confirmed that the Job Creation Law facilitates the government to attract more investment to regions, noting that the law encapsulates provisions that can improve the country's investment climate quality.
"It is also necessary to formulate policies aimed at improving our investment climate by optimizing the use of the State Budget (APBN) and regional budgets (APBD)," he emphasized.
In addition to the Job Creation Law, he spotlighted Law Number 1 of 2022 on Regional and Central Government Finance Relations (HKPD), stating that it has been clearing the way for the acceleration of optimal regional autonomy implementation according to the capacities of each region.
He then appealed to regional governments to utilize alternative instruments, such as regional bonds and endowment funds, to bolster their fiscal self-reliance.
Currently, he said, West Java Province is among the regions with the highest fiscal capacity, thereby enabling the province to issue bonds by involving its residents as investors.
"I hope that all parties, including regional leaders, would continue striving to successfully realize the transformation and shift of paradigm in the context of fiscal independence," he stated.
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Translator: Bayu Saputra, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Sri Haryati
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