The government will give high priority to local products, particularly for infrastructure projects as part of efforts to assist the development of national industries, create more jobs and reduce costs,  Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said on Tuesday.

All ministries, many of which still use imported goods for their projects, had been encouraged to use local products, Pramono added.

"We will encourage them to use domestic products so they can host the ongoing development, particularly in government projects," he said.

Pramono made the statement after President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo expressed his concern that many government projects still used imported goods. The President subsequently ordered his ministers to give high priority to local products.

"[By using local products], we can cut costs as we no longer need to import. It will also improve the competitiveness of our industries in the global market," said Jokowi during a limited Cabinet meeting at the State Palace on Monday.

As a follow up to the policy, Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution said that relevant officials were preparing regulations to make sure that the domestic products would be given the highest priority in the procurement of government goods and services.

"The government will draft the regulations to stipulate the preference for domestic products  as long as they meet standard requirements," Darmin said.

Industry Minister Saleh Husen added that energy,  transportation and public works were among sectors that still used imported products in their projects.

However, Pramono stressed that the quality of domestic products must continuously improve as many ministers still needed to import certain goods to meet the required standards. (bbn)(+)

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