The government aims to use the state budget to accelerate the economic recovery after the pandemic and to push for structural reform in a bid to boost productivity, innovation and economic competitiveness.

“We must turn this crisis into an opportunity to make big leaps,” Jokowi said.

“Twenty-five years from now, at the centenary of the Republic of Indonesia, we must achieve great progress and make Indonesia a developed country,” stressed the President, who said the current health crisis was similar to a computer crash that required restarting and rebooting.

Read also: Jokowi pledges to cut red tape, develop industrial parks across Indonesia

The COVID-19 pandemic has battered Indonesia’s economy, pushing the country’s economy into a contraction in the second quarter, the first since 1999, as the outbreak disrupted business activity and hurt consumer spending.

Next year, Indonesia looks to raise Rp 1.78 quadrillion (US$120.42 billion) in state income to fund bigger spending on infrastructure and health care, among other things, as the government proposes Rp 2.74 quadrillion in expenditure to fuel the virus-battered economy.

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