President Jokowi Tells Minister to Strengthen Forex Reserves
President Jokowi, accompanied by Vice President and Cabinet Secretary, entered Presidential Office on Tuesday (14/8) to lead Limited Cabinet Meeting. (Photo by: Agung/ Public Relations Division of Cabinet Secretariat).
Strengthening foreign exchange reserves is very important to strengthen economic resilience amidst global economic uncertainty, including the recent development in Turkeys economy, according to President Joko Jokowi Widodo.
The President made the statement during a Limited Cabinet Meeting on Continuing Policy Strategy to Strengthen Foreign Exchange Reserves at Presidential Office, Tuesday (14/8).
“We must maintain the stability of Rupiah exchange rate at a fair value, maintain low inflation, and manage current account deficit,” the President said, adding that Minister of Finance has carefully managed State Budget deficit at 2.12% this year and the deficit is expected to drop next year.
President Jokowi went on to say that the Government continues to expand capital expenditure in the State Budget and central bank Bank Indonesia is very prudent in managing monetary policy.
In the meantime, capital adequacy ratio in Indonesian Banks is very strong at 22% and the Financial Service Authority (OJK) has been instructed to maintain the ratio, he added.
During the meeting, the President also asked for an explanation regarding the progress of the implementation of various programs, including the acceleration of the mandatory implementation of B20 biodiesel and increasing use of local material -especially for large SOEs that previously used many imported components. The President also urged Ministry of Trade and the Customs and Excise to manage import control as well as to thoroughly and quickly examine the imported goods and distinguish between much needed goods and useless goods.
President Jokowi also stressed the importance of breakthrough to improve export competitiveness and investment. “We have launched the Online Single Submission (OSS) system and will continue to review the impact, President Jokowi said.
The President further said that accelerating tourism infrastructure is needed, particularly in major tourism spots. Tourism, according to the President, will quickly increase and strengthen foreign exchange reserves.
Also present during the meeting were Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Wiranto, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Darmin Nasution, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut B. Pandjaitan, Governor of Bank Indonesia Pery Warjiyo, Chairman of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) Muliaman D Hadad, Minister of State Secretary Pratikno, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani, Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasona M Laoly, Minister of National Development Planning Bambang Brodjonegoro, Minister of Transportation Budi K Sumadi, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Ignasius Jonan, Minister of Industry Airlangga Hartarto, Minister of Trade Enggartiasto Lukita, Minister of Tourism Arief Yahya, Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Thomas Lembong, Head of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) Suhariyanto, Managing Director of State-Owned Electricity Company PLN Sofyan Basir, and Head of the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Task Force (SKK Migas) Amien Sunaryadi.
