President Jokowi Asks Aceh Govt to Work Harder
President Jokowi chairs a Limited Meeting on Priority Programs in Aceh Province, attended by Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf, at the Presidential Office, Jakarta, on Tuesday (11/7) afternoon. (Photo: JAY/PR)
President Joko Jokowi Widodo said that Aceh is one of the provinces in Indonesia which is given recognition and respect from the country as a special region and also receives special autonomy.
With the status as a special region and special autonomy, the President hopes it will give maximum benefit, not only for the improvement and welfare of the people of Aceh, but also for our common prosperity as a nation, and strengthen the Unitary State of Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) within the framework of Unity in Diversity (Bhinneka Tunggal Ika).
“Currently, based on my data, economic growth in Aceh in the first quarter of 2017 was 2.87 percent. It is still below the national economic growth in the first quarter of 2017, which was 5.01 percent,” President Jokowi said while delivering the introductory remarks at the Limited Meeting on the Evaluation of National Strategic Project Implementation and Priority Programs in Aceh Province, at the Presidential Office, Jakarta, Tuesday (11/7) afternoon.
Therefore, the President reminded the Governor, Vice Governor, and all levels of Aceh Provincial Government that they have homework, and should work hard to manage and utilize all potential and benefits of Aceh to boost economic growth in Aceh, as well as provide prosperity for the people of Aceh.
“With the natural resources and potentials of Aceh, I am confident that we will be able to make inter-regional development, inter-districts in Aceh more equally distributed and able to reduce the number of open unemployment in Aceh Province which currently stands at 7.39 percent,” President Jokowi said.
The President asked the Governor and Vice Governor of Aceh to focus more on the development of the leading sectors, and the agriculture and processing industries. In the development of the leading sectors, the President reminded all not to forget to integrate between industrial downstream sectors and also to develop human resources.
In order to support the leading sector, according to President Jokowi, the Central Government will accelerate infrastructure projects in Aceh, from the construction of several dams, power plants, to the acceleration of infrastructure development for the SEZ (Special Economic Zone) in Lhokseumawe.
However, President Jokowi reminded the public that development efforts in Aceh should uphold the cultural values, local wisdom, and be able to encourage the participation and involvement of Aceh people in advancing the region.
Attending the Limited Meeting were Coordinating Minister for the Economy Darmin Nasution, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut B. Panjaitan, Minister of State Secretary Pratikno, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, Presidential Chief of Staff Teten Masduki, Minister of Agrarian/Head of the National Land Agency (BPN) Sofyan Djalil, Minister of Research and Technology and Higher Education M. Nasir, Minister of Transportation Budi K. Sumadi, Minister of Trade Enggartiasto Lukita, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Ignasius Jonan, Minister of Communications and Informatics Rudiantara, Minister of Social Affairs Khofifah Indar Parawansyah, Minister of Tourism Arief Yahya, Deputy Minister of Finance Mardiasmo, and Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf and Vice Governor Nova Iriansyah. (DNA/SM/JAY/ES) (MUR/YM/Naster).
