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View all search resultsDuring his first Cabinet meeting after a week-long state visit to several international fora, President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo discussed the nation's most pressing economic issues: infrastructure, fuel subsidies and the investment climate
uring his first Cabinet meeting after a week-long state visit to several international fora, President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo discussed the nation's most pressing economic issues: infrastructure, fuel subsidies and the investment climate.
On attracting investors to invest in infrastructure projects, the President asked his ministers and state-owned companies to 'think big' in supporting the country's development.
Speaking at a press conference after a Cabinet meeting on Monday, Coordinating Economic Minister Sofyan Djalil said the President, for example, had instructed his administration to ensure that every infrastructure project had long-term benefits for both the people and investors.
'The President wants all [infrastructure] plans [to be developed] by] thinking big. Don't think short-term but at least 50 to 100 years ahead,' Sofyan said.
Good planning and reliable feasibility studies, Sofyan continued, would also help the government convince potential investors, as the latter would be able to easily calculate their investment return. 'We will not only sell stories, but facts [to potential investors],' he said.
President Jokowi, who was inaugurated as the country's seventh president last month, has been very aggressive in promoting investment opportunities in Indonesia, as evidenced during his latest state visits to the APEC, ASEAN, East Asia and G20 summits.
Monday's Cabinet meeting also witnessed a presentation from state-owned port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia I (Pelindo I), which is planning to establish an integrated port and industrial area in North Sumatra.
'Pelindo II, Pelindo II, and Pelindo IV will also get the chance to present their [development] plans in detail,' Sofyan said.
Delivering a speech before kicking off the government's coordination meeting with 34 governors and provincial law-enforcement authorities earlier this month, Jokowi said the limited state budget authorized by former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had left the government with no choice other than to rely on private investment to speed up development.
Many potential investors, he said, gave up on their ideas about investing in the country due in large part to the time-consuming, complicated procedures to acquire business permits and the absence of supporting infrastructure.
In a move to attract investors and boost national development, Jokowi also recently instructed all governors, mayors and regents to establish one-stop business license services in their respective regions by next year.
'The President wants to see the service ready in four months,' Sofyan said of the policy that was also discussed in Monday's Cabinet meeting.
Jokowi's first impromptu visit (blusukan) as President was to the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) late in October, when he was surprised by the fact that it could take months and even years to secure a business license in the country.
He pledged to streamline all licensing procedures so that they fell under the authority of one body only, namely the BKPM.
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