"Since I built my business, it started completely from zero, and what I built at that time was only trust. There's nothing else because I don't have anything," he said at the meeting held on Saturday.
He recalled that when he started his business in Solo from scratch, he focused on building trust so that people would give or lend him raw materials without him having to pay them first.
"That's what I built — trust," he stressed.
Widodo said that he has also made efforts to build trust in the political arena.
"Once again, from the beginning when I built the company, I tried to build trust. In building my political career, I also tried to build trust, public trust," he added.
"People want to trust me because they see our team working, our cabinet working," he said.
"And indeed, from the past until now, my face has been like this; it hasn't changed; it's like a villager's face. If my face changed to a modern face, maybe people wouldn't even believe me," he remarked.
He said that when he became the mayor of Solo, people put their trust in him. He added that in the first period following the mayoral election, he was only chosen by 37 percent of the people.
However, in the second period, he was elected by 91 percent of voters on the basis of trust.
In developing the country, the President said, he has also sought to build trust, both nationally and globally.
"The agenda may vary. But in the end, the goal is to build trust and that is the most difficult thing," he added.
He said that after becoming president, he attended the ASEAN Summit and the G20 Summit and mingled with leaders of other countries, seeking to build trust.
The President further said he believes that a country nowadays requires investment to ensure its sustainability. And getting investment requires trust.
"Therefore, building trust is also important. People want to invest because they believe, so they bring their capital into our country. It was very difficult, and now we have achieved that," he said.
Translator: Rangga Pandu Asmara Jingga/Linna Susanti, Katriana
Editor: Azis Kurmala
Copyright © ANTARA 2023
