Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) has shared three measures taken by President Prabowo Subianto to anticipate global turmoil, including the fallout from the United States' import tariff policy.
PCO's deputy for dissemination and media information, Noudhy Valdryno, on Thursday said that the three steps consist of expanding trading partners, accelerating the downstreaming of natural resources, and strengthening domestic consumption resilience.
"With those three steps, the President has proved that Indonesia can continue to grow amidst global turmoil," Valdryno added.
He said that the three policies, combined with a proper geopolitical strategy, are expected to maintain economic growth amid disruption and global economic turmoil.
In a statement, the PCO outlined the three policies, starting from expanding trading partners.
"In the first week after being inaugurated, President Prabowo proposed Indonesia's membership in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), an economic group that accounts for 40 percent of global trade," he explained.
"This step strengthens Indonesia's position in international trade," he said.
According to Valdryno, the BRICS membership has bolstered multilateral trade agreements signed by Indonesia, including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with 10 ASEAN countries and Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand.
Indonesia has also continued efforts to become a permanent member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as well as negotiations on several other trade agreements, including Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CP-TPP), Indonesia-European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA), and Indonesia-Eurasian Economic Union CEPA (I-EAEU CEPA), he added.
Regarding the second policy of accelerating the downstreaming of natural resources, he said, "Indonesia's abundant natural resources have often been exported in raw materials. To increase added value, the President is prioritizing the industrial downstreaming policy."
He added that one of the strategies to expedite downstreaming has been the establishment of the Daya Anagata Nusantara Investment Management Agency (BPI Danantara).
"Danantara will fund and manage downstreaming projects in key sectors such as minerals, coal, oil, natural gas, plantations, marine, fisheries, and forestry," he said.
He informed that with this step, Indonesia can increase export competitiveness, cut dependence on foreign investment, create new jobs, and encourage sustainable natural resource-based economic growth.
Speaking about the third step, he said, "We aim to strengthen people's purchasing power through programs that directly affect people's welfare. One of President Prabowo's flagship programs is the Free Nutritious Meals program, targeting 82 million beneficiaries by the end of 2025."
In addition, the head of state is planning to establish 80 thousand Red and White Village Cooperatives to strengthen the village economy, open millions of new jobs, and encourage money circulation in the regions.
"Besides increasing domestic consumption, this effort will also reduce import dependence and strengthen the domestic economy," Valdryno said.
"By boosting household consumption, which accounts for 54 percent of Indonesia's GDP (gross domestic product), this program will contribute to national economic growth," he explained.
