Da Nang, Vietnam (Antara Bali) - Indonesia is considered successful in combining growth and economic equity so that it earned praise from US President Donald Trump.
During his speech in the opening of APEC CEO Summit in Da Nang, Vietnam, on Friday, Trump lauded Indonesia's efforts for building domestic and democratic institutions to manage up to 13,000 islands for decades.
Since the 1990s, according to Trump, the people of Indonesia have expelled themselves from poverty to become a country with a rapid growth in the G20, let alone Indonesia is currently the world's third largest democracy.
"We have been successfully combining economic growth and equity, as reported by President Jokowi (Joko Widodo) in front of APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) about our effort of internationalization of MSMEs as well as providing access to the capital," Deputy Foreign Minister A.M. Fachir said on the sidelines of APEC CEO Summit.
ABAC was the first agenda attended by President Jokowi during his stay in Vietnam for the summit, along with other APEC leaders.
"We want to emerge as a country that can combine growth and economic equity by relying our economy on the development of MSMEs. Our president was trying to send this message as it is in line with the inclusiveness of financing that supports our growth," Fachir added.
In relation to the APEC Summit's theme of "Creating New Dynamism and Fostering a Shared Future", President Jokowi asserted the urgent need for inclusiveness as has been carried out by Indonesia through some social safety net programs such as Indonesia healthcare card and smart card, to reduce social gap and distribute prosperity.
Under such theme, the 21 APEC leaders including US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, will focus discussing several issues namely sustainable economy, regional integration, strengthening the competitiveness of small and medium-sized micro enterprises as well as climate change agricultural funds.
This year's summit is also entering the final phase of "Bogor Goals" on trade and investment liberalization in 2020. Some obstacles arise in the process of globalization and economic integration.
Since its establishment in 1989, APEC has 21 members namely Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taipei, Thailand, USA and Vietnam.
APEC members represent 39 percent of the world's population, accounting for 57 percent of GDP and 49 percent of global trade. (WDY)
