President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) stated that Indonesia was among the three countries in G20 whose economic growth rate reached the figure above five percent, along with India and China.

“Among G20 countries, only Indonesia, India, and China managed to reach the figure of more than five percent of economic growth,” he remarked while attending the 2023 national conference of Real Estate Indonesia (REI) in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The G20 constitutes a multilateral forum comprising the European Union and 19 countries, with the contribution of 79 percent to global trade and 85 percent to the world’s economy.

The president noted that in the second quarter of 2023, Indonesia’s economic growth was recorded at 5.17 percent (year on year/yoy), adding that it was the seventh consecutive quarter that the country had succeeded in pegging a rate at above five percent.

“Like Mr Lusida, REI chairman, has said, our economic performance has gone better. It was announced on Monday that we reached 5.17 percent of economic growth,” he affirmed.

Furthermore, President Jokowi underscored that in terms of competitiveness, Indonesia’s ranking climbed, from 44th to 34th, the biggest leap worldwide.

The head of state believes that in the absence of a sound level of competitiveness, a country would struggle to compete in the global economy, especially on account of the fact that competitiveness is a determinant to a country’s ability to attract investment.

“Currently, countries are fiercely competing with each other to draw investments. Therefore, we need to improve our appeal, including by speeding up the processes of granting permits and acquiring lands,” he pointed out.

He then emphasized the need for Indonesia to continue to boost its competitiveness in order to maintain its economic growth, as he believes that it would be unwise to solely rely on the State Budget.

“This applies to the other countries as well. They might not grow if they depend on their state budgets. Investment is the key,” he concluded.