We are committed to maintaining the achievement."
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he expected poverty rate in the country to drop to 8 to 10 percent by the end of his term in 2014.

"We are optimistic we could reduce the poverty rate through the policies and strategies that we have set," he said in his key address on poverty alleviation here on Tuesday.

President Yudhoyono said his optimism was based on the country`s success in reducing the rate from 16.58 percent in 2007 to 11.66 percent in 2012.

"We have been able to take around nine million people out of poverty within five years` time. We are committed to maintaining the achievement," he said.

President Yudhoyono said fighting poverty was part of the country`s four strategic development principles namely pro-growth, pro-employment, pro-poverty alleviation and pro-environment.

He said the principles were strategic for producing growth to create jobs and economic opportunities.

"They are strategic principles that would encourage growth to reduce gaps, minimize poverty and therefore would bring people from low to middle-class levels and produce growth to preserve the environment for the future," he said.

President Yudhoyono said the strategic principles were implemented based on two main approaches namely macro-economic and affirmative policies.

One of the programs for implementing macro-economic policies is the Master Plan for Expansion and Acceleration of National Economic Development, locally known by its acronym as MP3EI, now worth Rp623.91 trillion spreading in 184 projects.

The majority of MP3EI investments come from the private sector (44 percent), state-owned companies (19.5 percent), the government through the national budget (19 percent) and from a combination of private and state-owned companies.

The policy to reduce poverty meanwhile is implemented through four clusters namely social safety net, community empowerment, entrepreneurship through small and medium businesses and programs to help people reduce living cost.

(Reporting by GNC Aryani/H-YH/S012)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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