The demographic dividend presents an opportunity for the Indonesian youth to partake in regional and national development, Presidential Expert Staff Aminuddin Ma’ruf stated.

“The demographic dividend is an opportunity for the youth to become the actors of regional and national development. We have everything to push Indonesia from a third world country to become a first world country,” he said in a statement received here, Thursday.

To this end, Ma’ruf invited the youth to take a big step in development. He highlighted that the government had readied policies to produce superior talents, such as by developing vocational education, providing scholarships, and developing infrastructure.

Ma’ruf noted that the youth or regional leaders had made several breakthroughs in development policies by utilizing the regional potential. The youth’s breakthroughs in regions can also be an answer to the problems of the rate of urbanization and the development gap in rural and urban areas, he assessed.

“Every time I visit regions, I always find local champions, who inspire development in the region, such as the emergence of start-ups and social movements by entrepreneurs. This entrepreneurship will revive the economy in the region,” he remarked.

In addition, Ma’ruf invited the younger generation to make the most of President Joko Widodo’s breakthroughs that he had conveyed at the opening of the 34th NU Congress: the granting of concessions in the agriculture, mining, minerals, and coal sectors to the younger generation.

“The breakthrough in giving agricultural and mining concessions to the younger generation is the government’s action to strengthen food and energy sovereignty. This means the government wants natural resources to be fully managed by the best sons and daughters of the country,” he asserted.

Source: Antara News