It is for that purpose, the head of state encouraged participants to delve into matters critical to the advancement of finance cooperation within Asean and to produce tangible steps towards building a strong and sustainable Asean Economic Community.
In his keynote speech, the president proposed three key priorities for Asean in 2011 in order to realize the vision concerned.
The first priority is ensuring significant progress and implementation of Asean community. For Asean Finance Ministers, this implies building on progress in financial services liberalization, capital market development and management of capital flows.
The second priority is for Asean to be more cohesive and competitive to maintain its role as a driver for East Asia wide regionalism and architecture. After the East Asian financial crisis of 1997 and 1998, Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors had already put in place an Asean plus Three mechanism on macro economic policy coordination and surveillance, bilateral swap agreements and a regional reserves pooling scheme under the Chiang Mai Initiative.
The third priority is a chance for Asean to contribute to the global agreements and governance, particularly in strengthening our engagement with emerging global forums, such as the G20. Asean nations can also serve as "agents of change" that drives progress and development in many areas of cooperation within the region, be it financial cooperation, food security, energy security, financial inclusiveness, or equitable growth.
On Indonesia part to ensure financial inclusion, since 2007, the government has introduced an innovative credit scheme called `Credit for the People` (KUR - Kredit Usaha Rakyat), which is executed through commercial banks, 70% of which is guaranteed by the Government.
Annually, Indonesia increases capital of the guarantee companies the amount of two trillion rupiah (approximately 200 million US dollars) or guaranteeing 20 trillion rupiah of loans. This allows micro-enterprises lacking collaterals to access bank loans.
The President also shared opinion that Indonesia is currently finalizing its own Master plan for accelerating economic development and economic corridors.
He stated that there will be six economic corridors in various regions of Indonesia and in each corridors there will be growth areas. The vision of the master-plan is for Indonesia to be locally integrated and globally connected.
The Ministers and Central Bank Governors were also invited to delve into the pristine beaches and the many entertainment spots on this island, bearing in mind that the meeting will surely drain their energy levels.
"To recharge, I encourage you to spend an extra few days to go and explore other Indonesian remarkable sites and islands," the president said, adding that "no matter what is the level of development, each Asean economy has a stake in the success of the other. Our common future and shared interests bind us together like no other time before"
"Through greater inclusion and participation of people from all levels of economy in society, we may foster greater ideas and innovation. We can promote Asean as an even more people-centered organization than before," he concluded.
(T. E002/HAJM/F001)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
