President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) called on all ministers of the Advanced Indonesia Cabinet to formulate policies that align with the rapid changes worldwide.
“We must respond quickly to any changes in the world. The policies we implement must be in line with the dynamics in the world,” Jokowi stated during the first plenary cabinet meeting in 2023 at the State Palace, Jakarta, on Monday.
The president remarked that in 2022, the government had achieved positive results amid external pressure in the form of the global crises that threatened all countries. In addition, Indonesia’s economic growth in 2022 increased to 5.72 percent in the third quarter.
Jokowi had estimated that Indonesia’s economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2022 will reach 5.2 or 5.3 percent.
“If we look at inflation, we can control it at 5.5 percent. This is also a very good achievement, and I ask related elements to continue to suppress this inflation,” he added.
Apart from using monetary instruments at Bank Indonesia, he also urged Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian to push regions to participate in suppressing inflation in the country.
“Thank God, state revenue grew 30.36 percent. However, 2023 is a test year for all countries in the world due to very high geopolitical pressure. The world economy is also weakening, especially in big countries, such as the European Union, China, and the United States (US). I think it is expected that all of them will weaken,” he remarked.
Since those countries are destinations for Indonesia’s export markets, the president called on the ministers to also continue to exercise caution in the wake of this condition.
“The projected world economic growth has also decreased, from the previous figure of 2.9 percent to fall on 1.7 percent. This is a projection from the World Bank, so this is a challenge for us,” Jokowi stated.
The head of state is upbeat that exports and investment in Indonesia would grow better in 2023.
“We will also continue to strengthen the downstream industry because this will have a broad impact on job opportunities for our people and will also increase foreign exchange for the country,” he stated.