"We have to beware of three crises that could trigger disputes among global countries. They are food supply, energy and water," the President said here when opening a Governors` Meeting at the Jakarta Convention Center Monday.
Floods that hit Australia the size of Germany and France recently is a sign of climate change. It affected agriculture, mining, and other economic sectors in Australia and also have a serious impact on the global economy, Yudhoyono said.
Although water seemed so abundant, but some areas and countries were now undergoing water shortages, he said.
According to him, besides the three crises, some global issues that might have an impact on the global economy are world peace and security, global poverty, terrorism and extremism, climate change, and natural disasters.
"Of 6.8 billion of the world population, around 2 billion are poor people," he said, adding that the issues were faced globally.
These issues were the challenges facing Indonesia. However, there were always opportunities for Indonesia from this global situation, he said.
"We live in a dynamic world. Therefore, we should be keen in anticipating, gaining opportunities, and facing challenges and obstacles," he said.
Developed countries wanted to cooperate with emerging economies or developing countries that had values and commitments to economic and technology benefit, he said
International cooperation in defense systems and overcoming climate change were some examples of cooperation prompted by global issues, Yudhoyono said, adding that we should be more sensitive and keen on the hidden potentials of global issues.
The meeting was attended by ministers, governors from all Indonesia`s provinces, and also district and municipality heads, was officially opened at 9 am.
The Gubernatorial Working Meeting has been held four times since Yudhoyono`s took office in 2009.
The theme of this 2011 meeting is `Fair and Just Economic Growth Acceleration Supported by Determination on Management and Synergy between Central and Regional Governments.(*)
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
