TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati assessed that the projections of Indonesia's economic growth voiced by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were too low.

The OECD projected that Indonesia’s economy in 2021 will only grow 3.7 percent, while the IMF predicts 3.2 percent growth. “The IMF and OECD’s predictions for this year, in our opinion, are too low,” Sri said at a press conference on Wednesday, October 27.

She argued that although Indonesia was hit by the COVID-19 Delta variant in the third quarter of 2021, the handling was quite fast and effective. Thus, she is optimistic that economic development in the third quarter of 2021 can reach 4.5 percent.

In the fourth quarter, the country’s GDP growth is estimated to reach 5.4 percent. “So this year's overall economic projection is 4 percent, higher than the IMF and OECD’s projections,” the former managing director of the World Bank remarked.

According to the minister, the economic projections take into account the country's ability to contain COVID-19, especially the Delta variant. She thus expressed gratitude that Indonesia managed to tackle the issue and hoped the good situation could be maintained.

Sri Mulyani further underlined that the public discipline in applying the health protocols is vital, while the government is striving to intensify vaccination. “That will be the key to normalizing economic activities,” she added.

Read: Sri Mulyani Says Indonesia's Economy Recovering as Expected

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