President Jokowi Calls on Ministers to Promptly Respond to Global Changes

President Jokowi Monday (01/16) chairs a plenary cabinet meeting at the State Palace, Jakarta. (Photo by: PR/Rahmat)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo Monday (01/16) called on his administration to promptly respond to global changes.

“Most importantly, we must respond quickly to any changes in the world. The policies that we implement quickly reflect the world’s dynamics,” President Jokowi said when chairing a plenary cabinet meeting.

During the meeting, President Jokowi also discussed the evaluation of the 2022 economic performance. He said that amid external pressures and global crises that pose risks to all countries, many positive achievements were made.

“We went through 2022, a turbulent year, well with 5.72 [percent] of economic growth in Q3. Maybe, the annual average will decrease at, I think, at 5.2 or 5.3 [percent],” he said.

On the income side, Indonesia recorded a growth of 30.36 percent. The inflation rate was also controlled at 5.5 percent. Thus, the President ordered to continue efforts to suppress inflation in 2023.

“Apart from the monetary instruments at BI (Bank Indonesia), I also order Minister of Home Affairs to carry on with it so that the regions can jointly participate in suppressing inflation, so that we can suppress it to the lowest possible,” he said.

The President expressed belief that the 2022 achievements will become a positive capital for Indonesia in 2023. “The projected world economic growth has also decreased from the previous figure of 2.9 [percent]. It is gradually reduced to 1.7 percent. This is a projection from the World Bank. So, this is a challenge for us, but because we were able to get through 2022 well, God willing, this will also be possible in 2023,” he stated.

The President also expressed optimism that in 2023, the country’s export performance and investment realization will show a positive trend supported by the ongoing downstream industry.

“We hope that our exports will still be good, our investment will also be good, then we will also continue to strengthen the downstream because this will have a broad impact on job opportunities for our people and will also increase foreign exchange for the country,” he remarked. (FID/UN) (FI/MMB)