Jakarta (ANTARA) - Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan stated on Wednesday that digital adaptation is one of the keys to facing trade challenges amid the development of technology that is increasingly advanced.

"Digital adaptation, collaboration, and cooperation are keys to facing the current trade challenges," he stated at the launch event of the 2045 Digital Indonesia Vision in Jakarta.

He underscored the need for Indonesia to build a digital ecosystem that does not only focus on transactions but also on production, logistics, and the provision of technology.

To this end, Trade Minister's Regulation Number 31 of 2023 on Business Licensing, Advertisement, Development, and Supervision of Business Players in Commerce Through Electronic Systems has been issued to support the empowerment of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Moreover, it is aimed at empowering local e-commerce business players as well as boosting consumer protection.

Hasan highlighted that the regulation contains the development of a fair and healthy digital commerce ecosystem so as to ensure all stakeholders receive the principle of equality or equal treatment from the government.

He further explained that the regulation is also a form of digital adaptation as the government is striving to respond to technological developments in the trade sector.

"Gradually, everything will be paperless. Everything will be digital, including customs. We already have the same trading standards for services and goods. Gradually, perhaps, ASEAN's digital sector will be the most advanced," he remarked.

On the same occasion, Deputy Minister of Communication and Informatics (Kominfo) Nezar Patria stated that digital transformation is a supporting aspect for Indonesia to achieve its goal of becoming a country with the fifth-strongest economy in the world.

He noted that in the last decade, the digital sector had grown 2.5 times faster than the non-digital sector and contributed around 15 percent to the global gross domestic product (GDP).

In the ASEAN region, the digital economy is expected to contribute an added value of US$1 trillion to the region's GDP in 2030.

In Indonesia, digital transformation is projected to encourage the country's economic growth to reach 6.2 percent by 2045.

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Translator: Adimas Raditya, Raka Adji
Editor: Anton Santoso
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