Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia has said that stability is needed in order to achieve the investment target of Rp1,400 trillion set by President Joko Widodo for 2023.

If Indonesia can maintain stability throughout 2023, the country’s growth will be good, too, he added.

“If stability is not maintained well, it is not impossible that Indonesia will experience the same fate as what happened to the UK,” he said here on Saturday.

According to him, the investment target set by the President is a pre-requisite for national economic growth of above 5 percent.

He affirmed that his ministry is currently discussing strategies to reach the target. One of the strategies involves focusing on downstreaming.

Lahadalia said that achieving the investment target of Rp1,400 trillion in 2023 will not be easy.

“This target is not an easy work. This is a really difficult work. Why I said difficult? Because the global economic crisis is right in front of our eyes,” he said.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which is still in the recovery phase, and the geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, which have resulted in food and energy crises, have affected various countries, including Indonesia, and could affect investment, he noted.

“Thus, if I am asked whether I am optimistic about the target of Rp1,400 trillion, I say that Indonesia’s economy is good but the global economy is not in good condition. I do not mean to say that I am pessimistic. We must be optimists, but realistic optimists,” he said.

The ministry is optimistic about achieving the investment target for 2022 of Rp1,200 trillion, he informed.

“Inshallah (if God wills), we will reach the target. But how much, that is what we will announce in mid-January,” he said.

Source: Antara News