While President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has spent the past nine years enacting policies to pave the way for Indonesia to become a global power, he said that the nation’s success in achieving its ambitions relies on whether his successor has the necessary “consistency” and “courage”.

Speaking during his penultimate State of the Nation Address on Wednesday, Jokowi said that Indonesia today has a great chance of achieving its "2045 Golden Indonesia" vision and of reaching the top five global economies in the coming years.

“We not only have the chance, but we have also devised strategies to achieve it,” said Jokowi, who was dressed in the traditional attire of North Maluku’s Tanimbar people.

This strategy, he said, included the development of Indonesia’s human capital, the push for a more green economy policies and the downstreaming of the commodity-based industry, which the President believed to be “windows of opportunity” to speed up the nation’s progress.

“We must make the most of this opportunity. We would be at a great loss if we missed out on this opportunity because not every country has it, and there’s no guarantee that we will have it again,” Jokowi said.

To this end, Jokowi urged his successor not to squander Indonesia’s chance of moving up the global economic ladder, saying that existing development policies should still be continued even when he leaves office in October next year.

“It’s not about who the President is, but [it’s about] whether or not the future leaders are ready to work in line with what we have started today,” Jokowi said. “While we aren’t exactly on a leisurely walk, we are not sprinting either. What we [need] to be doing is a marathon.”

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