Trade Minister Zulhas: Indonesia Has Fulfilled All Conditions To Become A Developed Country

Minister of Trade (Mendag) Zulkifli Hasan. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Minister of Trade (Mendag) Zulkifli Hasan said Indonesia could become a developed country because it has met all requirements.

"We have all the requirements to become a developed country, as long as we want," said Zulkifli after attending Sarasehan with the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) in Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Tuesday, September 24.

Zulkifli said that currently the Indonesian economy is growing above 5 percent and this year's inflation is projected to be between 2 percent and 2.3 percent.

In terms of the price of basic commodities, said Zulkifli, the average is stable and tends to fall. According to him, this condition is quite good, especially before the change of government in October 2024.

"So I think this situation is encouraging before October 20," he said.

Furthermore, Zulkifli said that Indonesia was able to catch up with countries such as Japan, China, and South Korea.

During his visit to various countries, according to Zulkifli, many admitted that Indonesia was just waiting time to become a developed country.

"We can already build weapons, we can make nuclear, our country is developed too, but other countries are faster," said Zulkifli.

Previously, the Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) recorded that Indonesia's total exports in the August 2024 period amounted to 23.56 billion US dollars, the largest since December 2022.

"Indonesia's export in August 2024 was recorded at 23.56 billion US dollars. This is the largest value since the end of December 2022," said Special Staff to the Minister of Trade for International Trade Treaty, Bara Khrisna Hasibuan at a press conference in Jakarta, Monday, September 23.

This value is the highest export in the last 20 months. This is a big achievement, especially in the midst of global economic conditions.

The increase in exports in August 2024 is very significant compared to the export performance in July 2024 which amounted to 22.24 billion US dollars.

In addition, the trade balance surplus in August 2024 also increased significantly by 2.9 billion US dollars compared to July 2024 which only increased by 0.5 billion US dollars from the previous month.