Jokowi Proud Of Indonesia Never Lockdown: This Is One Of The Main Foundations To Support Our Economy

President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo. (Photo: Doc. Setkab)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said that the foundations of the Indonesian economy had strengthened in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022. According to Jokowi, one of the main foundations supporting the Indonesian economy is the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

"Our economy throughout 2020-2021 also continues to move, never stops, one of which is because it has never been locked down, and this makes it easier to accelerate the economy in 2022," he said at the CNBC Indonesia Economic Outlook 2022 event, Tuesday, March 22.

Then, said Jokowi, it was also strengthened by structural reforms through the issuance of Law Number 11 of 2022 concerning Job Creation or the (Ciptaker) Law. Where the law regulates investment simplification that makes it easier for investors to invest.

"The issuance of the Ciptaker Law, simplifying the bureaucracy for investment, this is a big foundation whose results we will begin to see and enjoy in 2022," he said.

Then, Jokowi said the downstream steps taken also had a positive impact on the domestic economy. The reason is that the raw materials produced are no longer exported, but downstreaming is carried out in order to provide added value to the product.

"The downstream steps have also taken place on a large scale in 2021, we stop exports of raw materials and we encourage domestic downstreaming, step by step the downstreaming will be higher and will continue to drive the economy and create jobs in the country," he said.

Digital economy

The former governor of DKI Jakarta said that another factor that can boost the Indonesian economy is the digital economy. This is growing because of the COVID-19 pandemic which has forced the acceleration of digitalization in the country.

"The foundation of the digital economy as the basis of a new economy has also been strong enough in the last year, the decacorn has been born, the number of unicorns in the country continues to increase, this is proof that digital infrastructure is expanding and the digital ecosystem is more conducive," he said.

Jokowi believes that with these various foundations, Indonesia's economic growth will be stronger this year.

"With this foundation, I believe we can accelerate our economic growth in 2022," he said.