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World Bank reaffirms commitment to support economic development in Indonesia
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Reaffirming commitment: World Bank vice president for East Asia and the Pacific Victoria Kwakwa (center) meets with stakeholders during her five-day visit to Indonesia from Nov. 13 to 18. During her first official visit to Indonesia, she met Vice President Jusuf Kalla and several key Cabinet ministers. She also visited projects supported by PAMSIMAS (Community-based water supply and sanitation) and Generasi (Health and Bright Generation) programs. (Courtesy of the World Bank/File)
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orld Bank vice president for East Asia and the Pacific Victoria Kwakwa has reaffirmed the international financial institution’s commitment to supporting Indonesia’s efforts to achieve higher economic growth and greater prosperity for its 250 million population.
During her first official visit to Indonesia, Kwakwa met with Vice President Jusuf Kalla and several key Cabinet ministers. They included Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Manpower Minister Muhammad Hanif Dhakiri, Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono and Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister Sofyan Djalil.
She also met with representatives from civil society, social commentators, the private sector and development partners. Kwakwa discussed a range of issues, including the government’s reform efforts to achieve higher and more inclusive growth, through attention to macroeconomic stability, structural reforms, and greater focus on infrastructure and human capital investment.
“Indonesia’s progress in strengthening macroeconomic fundamentals and recent improvements in the business climate will help achieve its growth objectives against a challenging global environment. The country is also setting a good example of how strategic policy reforms and a focus on service delivery at the local level can benefit the poor and contribute to lower poverty rates,” said Kwakwa.
During her visit from Nov. 13 to 18, Kwakwa also visited Yogyakarta, where she saw firsthand how communities and local authorities worked together to improve access to basic services. This included in heath, clean water and sanitation and upgrading living conditions of slums.
These programs are considered helpful to address one of Indonesia’s most pressing challenges, namely childhood malnutrition. Indonesia has the world’s fifth highest rate of stunting, affecting about 9 million children under the age of five, the World Bank notes. (ebf)
