REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia will be able to deal with economic pressures, as well as it has been doing in the last few years, says the newly appointed World Bank Director for Indonesia, Rodrigo Chaves.
"During the last decade, the world had seen how Indonesia has risen as an emerging market country," Chaves was quoted to have said, in a press statement whose copy was made available to Antara here on Saturday.
According to the Director, the country has strong macro-economic fundamentals and has provided careful fiscal management, which will help it bring about rupiah stabilization and to deal with external volatility impacted by global economic pressures.
"This nation has everything needed to bring prosperity to its people," maintains Chaves, who has a doctoral degree in Economics from the Ohio State University, United States, and was a former Director of Poverty Reduction and Economic Management in Latin America and the Caribbean, prior to taking over as Country Director for Indonesia with the World Bank.
In the statement, he observed that the challenges of development in Latin America and the Caribbean are similar to the conditions in Indonesia, such as social disparity and lack of access to education, health, clean water, and other basic services for the poor.
In Indonesia, Chaves has been reported to have led 37 active operation programs, with a net commitment of 8 billion USD through loans since August 2013, which will be used for social development, geothermal energy enhancement and early childhood education.
"After six decades of productive partnership, the World Bank is honored to continue to support Indonesia in achieving its goal as one of the most prosperous countries," he said.
Previously, the country?s Minister of Finance, Chatib Basri, noted that the budget year of 2014 is a stabilization period and the government will focus on fixing the fundamentals of the national economy, with a growth risk no higher than six percent.
"There always will be choices in policymaking. If we push growth, our fundamentals will be unstable and hampered in the mid-term period. Hence, we focus on stability. The national budget is not ready for pushing significant growth," Basri commented.
While aiming for stabilization, the Finance Minister assured that the government will enact a tight fiscal policy by taking care that the budget deficit and current balance deficit are not widened.
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