Sri Mulyani: Infrastructure Development, Human Resources as Pillars of Indonesia’s Economic Resilience

Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati delivers remarks during BNI Investor Daily Summit 2024 with theme “Accelerating Resilient Growth” at Jakarta Convention Center, Tuesday (10/08).09

Infrastructure development and human resources are the foundations for Indonesia’s economic resilience, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati has said.

The Minister made the statement at the BNI Investor Daily Summit 2024 with the theme “Accelerating Resilient Growth” held at the Jakarta Convention Center, Tuesday (10/08).

According to her, Indonesia has successfully gone through numerous extraordinary and historic shocks over the past decade, including the COVID-19 pandemic and rising geopolitical tensions.

She also linked this resilience to the consistent role of the State Budget in supporting both society and the economy.

The Minister also explained that to achieve resilience against various shocks, a strong foundation is necessary, particularly through infrastructure development.

Since 2014, the State Budget has steadily increased infrastructure, resulting in various achievements in transportation, education, housing, sanitation, irrigation, and digital infrastructure.

“These are all tangible results that can be consistently achieved because our fiscal has been able to adjust even in various situations and support the government’s development programs,” she said, adding that another critical aspect for achieving high growth and escaping the middle-income trap is the development of human resources through education and social protection.

“The budgets for education and social protection are the two largest components of our State Budget,” she added.

Additionally, Indonesia’s resilience is bolstered by downstream processing and affirmative policies in the manufacturing sector and others, strengthening the trade balance, and current account as vital pillars of Indonesia’s economy.

“So, when we look at the perspective of the last ten years amidst numerous extraordinary and historical shocks—whether from the pandemic, geopolitical issues, commodity prices, or the worst global interest rate hikes and inflation in the last forty years—Indonesia has managed to maintain good growth and keep the State Budget healthy. That is quite significant,” Sri Mulyani explained.

According to her, these can be a foundation for the new government to start strong and focus on implementing its priority programs.

“As Minister of Finance, I feel honored and privileged to build and support this transitional foundation to ensure it proceeds smoothly and safely while also creating credibility for the new government to begin its administration robustly and focus on priority programs,” she said.

She also expressed hope that the BNI Investor Daily Summit could serve as a platform to foster optimism and maintain the momentum for improvement. (Public Relations of Ministry of Finance /DNS) (EST/EP)