Indonesia has potential to become Asia's new economic power: President

Indonesia has the potential to become a new economic power in Asia, along with India and China, President Joko Widodo said at the opening of the BNI Investor Daily Summit 2024 in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Widodo said that the world has entered the Asian century, marking a shift in economic growth from Western countries to Asia. The economic growth has shifted to Asia, and it is predicted to have three new economic powers, namely India, China and Indonesia, he said.

However, Indonesia still faces obstacles due to the global economic slowdown and geopolitical tensions that create global economic uncertainty, he noted.

Widodo emphasized that Indonesia has a large population, large capital resources, and an economic growth rate of over 5% in 2024. The economic growth rate can increase yearly, which will accelerate the process of promoting Indonesia to become a developed country.

The President mentioned two areas - downstream and digitalization - that Indonesia needs to promote to achieve good economic growth in the future.

He also expressed his hope that Indonesia's GDP per capita, currently standing at $5,060 per year, will increase to above $7,000 annually in the next five years and above $9,000 per year in the next decade. Therefore, the country’s economic growth must be maintained at over 5%, striving to reach 8%.

The summit that takes place from October 8-9 is held annually by the state-owned Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), aiming to provide opportunities for the Indonesian government, entrepreneurs, investors and stakeholders to develop strategies to face national and global economic challenges.

This year, it attracted 2,000 delegates, including ministers, policy makers, speakers, academics, business people and students. The participants will discuss 15 strategic issues in the fields of downstream, connectivity, regulatory reform, economic expansion and the ability to accelerate to the next stage of growth of Indonesia and the world.