Doha – The President-elect for the 2024-2029 period, Prabowo Subianto, is optimistic that Indonesia’s economy can achieve growth of up to 8% in the next two to three years.
This statement was made by Prabowo during his attendance at the Qatar 2024 Economic Forum in Doha on Wednesday (15/5). At the event, Prabowo was asked about the economic growth projection that can be achieved during his five-year leadership.
“I am very confident; I have spoken with experts and studied the numbers. I believe we can easily reach 8%. I am determined to surpass that,” said Prabowo, who was accompanied by Vice President-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka.
“Yes, hopefully (it can be achieved) in the next two to three years,” he added.
Furthermore, Prabowo stated that downstream policies will be the key to achieving economic growth in the future. He mentioned that downstream will still take time to be implemented.
He also emphasized that one of the drivers of economic growth in his first year of government will be the agriculture and food sector (production and distribution) as well as energy.
“We want to quickly transition to green energy. We want to produce solar from palm oil, and this will be a very strong driver of economic growth,” Prabowo revealed.
“So far, we import 20 billion US dollars worth of solar every year. So, you can imagine the savings we will achieve by switching to biofuel,” he added.
Prabowo emphasized that adopting downstream policies to reduce imports does not mean that Indonesia is adopting a protectionist economic stance. He wants Indonesia to become an advanced industrial country and not just remain as an exporter of raw materials.
According to him, every country will strive for its national interests, especially to protect its people.
“I think this is a misunderstanding. We are not protectionists. What we are doing is very logical; every country in the world will fight for or protect its core national interests, its people,”
“We want to industrialize, and it is our natural resources that need to be protected for the sake of the people. We need to get full value from it. We cannot constantly import industrial goods. It is unfair to our people,” Prabowo emphasized.
