TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - In the midst of a packed schedule in the 35th ASEAN Summit, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo held a brief meeting with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.

During the meeting, President Jokowi opened by congratulating Kristalina’s new role as IMF’s managing director as of October 2019. She is considered as the first managing director from an emerging economy of Bulgaria.

“This is the first IMF Managing Director from an emerging economy,” said Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi in a written release from the president’s press bureau.

Minister Retno revealed that Jokowi and Kristalina discussed many topics regarding the global and regional economy. She also revealed that the world’s economy is experiencing its slowest growth in the past decade.

Despite the aforementioned situation, she deemed that the situation within ASEAN countries, including Indonesia, is experiencing a better economic climate.

“She says that the ASEAN economy is currently in the bright spot in terms of the world’s economy. The bright spot is in ASEAN,” she said.

In the meeting, Jokowi shared information on what Indonesia projects to see in the next five years, such as developing the country’s human resources, the sustainability of infrastructure development, regulatory simplicity, and institutional reform.

FRISKI RIANA