President Jokowi Highlights Infrastructure Development as Key to Enhanced Competitiveness

President Jokowi delivers press statement after inaugurating two toll roads in North Sumatra and Jambi provinces, Wednesday (10/16). (Photo by: BPMI/Vico)

Infrastructure development in the country, such as toll roads, is the Government’s effort to enhance competitiveness, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has said.

“Competitiveness is crucial for a country. The construction of toll roads is part of efforts to improve our competitiveness so that we can compete with other countries in terms of speed, whether it’s the speed of goods distribution, logistics distribution, and people’s mobility,” the President said after inaugurating the Indrapura-Kisaran and Betung-Tempino-Jambi toll roads at the Kisaran Toll Gate, Asahan regency, Wednesday (16/10).

According to the President, the more infrastructure a country has, the greater the chance to win in global competition.

“I think the competition in the future will become even tighter, and the more infrastructure we have, the better,” said the President.

On that occasion, President Jokowi also commented on the Indonesian National Football Team’s recent loss to China in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers. He viewed the result as part of the sports, where a team can win, lose, or draw. However, the players should remain motivated to proceed to the next round.

“Well, it’s a football game. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes it’s a draw. That’s normal. The most important is to keep the spirit alive because we still have a big chance to progress to the next round,” he remarked. (TGH/ABD) (EST/MUR)