Sri Mulyani Stresses on Indonesia Bolstering Economic Structure

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian government must strengthen economic structure to realize more stable growth in the face of global upheavals, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani stated.

"What is our homework? Our homework is that our economy has yet to become strong. If the economy grows while the current account and trade deficits remain, this means we still have to strengthen the economic structure," Sri Mulyani noted at Kempinski Hotel, on Friday.

The minister remarked that the government must have knowledge of aspects to strengthen the economic structure in order to optimally capitalize on them and make Indonesia a competitive and productive nation.

"If we want the Indonesian economy to make more progress, we must look at what is the strength and how to increase it," she emphasized.

One of the aspects capable of making Indonesia a competitive and productive nation is quality, innovative, and creative human resources, she pointed out.

"That depends on its quality human resources. We have allocated 20 percent of the state budget fund for education, but we need to improve its quality again," Sri Mulyani noted.

Hence, the government has made various new breakthroughs to improve the quality of human resources by issuing pre-employment cards.

Sufficient infrastructure also plays a significant role in creating quality human resources, so the government continues to build and develop the aspect, she stated.

"Our economy will become productive and competitive if the infrastructure is good in terms of quality and quantity. We have one thousand islands that must be utilized," she remarked.

Sri Mulyani further noted that the bureaucratic system also has an impact on the creation of a productive and competitive Indonesian economy. Hence, there is a dire need for bureaucratic reforms in central and regional governments.

ANTARA