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Jokowi talks trade, digital economy

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Papua New Guinea’s capital of Port Moresby, on Saturday and Sunday, during which Jokowi also spoke about the digital economy

Dian Septiari (The Jakarta Post)
Mon, November 19, 2018

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Jokowi talks trade, digital economy

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resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Papua New Guinea’s capital of Port Moresby, on Saturday and Sunday, during which Jokowi also spoke about the digital economy.

During the meeting on Saturday evening, Jokowi and Xi discussed bilateral economic cooperation between the two countries. Jokowi expressed hope that Indonesia and China could work together in reducing the former’s trade deficit with the latter, including by easing exports of tropical fruits.

“I also hope your excellency [Xi] will push more Chinese tourists to visit Indonesia, especially Bali and the ‘10 new Balis’,” Jokowi said in a statement received on Sunday.

Jokowi and Xi also discussed the export of palm oil and its products — including B20 biofuel — as well as investment in research pertaining to industry 4.0.

Jokowi also held his first ever bilateral meeting with Solomon Islands’s Prime Minister Rick Houenipwela on Saturday, in which they talked about cooperation in many sectors — ranging from maritime issues to palm oil development.

Jokowi also talked about the latest development in Papua and West Papua provinces.

“I appreciate the position of the Solomon Islands that supports Indonesia’s territorial integrity,” Jokowi said, adding that infrastructure development had been intensified in the two provinces.

He said in the past 4 years, 4,174 kilometers of roads, 7 airports and 15 ports had been developed, while public health and educational services had been improved.

Also on Saturday, Jokowi attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Advisory Council (ABAC) where he stressed the importance of being inclusive in the era of the digital economy.

Jokowi, who was seated with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Taiwan’s special envoy Morris Chang, discussed issues of trade, the global economy and digital economy, which was moderated by Richard Cantor from the United States. Indonesia was also represented by the chair of ABAC Indonesia, Anindya Bakrie.

The Foreign Ministry’s director of intraregional and interregional cooperation in Asia, Pacific and Africa, Andre Omer Siregar, said Jokowi emphasized that inclusive economic development using digital platforms was a priority for his administration.

With 132.7 million internet users and 92 million smart phone users, the government has launched a policy road map on e-commerce because Indonesia is projected to be the biggest digital economy in Southeast Asia by 2020.

Therefore, the government supports the use of technology in all sectors such as Ruangguru in the education sector, or Go-Jek in the transportation sector. All this is done to encourage an inclusive economy, Andre said.

To ensure inclusive development in the digital era, Jokowi highlighted that digital inequality must be overcome through the formulation of an “internet of things” road map, and the provision of platforms for digital marketing for micro, small and medium enterprises such as Tokopedia and Qlapa.

“We should not forget inclusiveness, so that the benefits of development can be enjoyed by everyone. If we ignore inclusiveness, it can worsen the gap. And the gap will create social problems and even conflict,” Jokowi said.

Meanwhile on Sunday, Jokowi attended a leaders retreat on the digital economy and a leaders’ luncheon before returning home.

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