Jokowi carries digital economy at US-ASEAN Summit

"This Special ASEAN-US Summit is a good opportunity to strengthen relations between ASEAN and the United States (US), especially in the economic sector," President Jokowi said at the ASEAN-US High Level Summit or ASEAN-US Summit Retreat I, which was held at the Interactive Gallery, Sunnylands Center & Gardens, California, US, Monday afternoon local time or Tuesday, Jakarta time.

At the session themed on Promoting an Innovative, Entrepreneurial ASEAN Economic Community, the President highlighted two priorities that need attention from ASEAN and the US, namely MSME cooperation, as well as technology and digital economy.

According to President Jokowi, MSME cooperation needs to be mainstreamed because MSMEs form the backbone of Indonesia and ASEAN economies.

"Around 88.8 percent to 99.9 percent of the type of businesses in ASEAN are MSMEs, and they absorb 51.7 percent to 97.2 percent of the workforce in ASEAN," he said.

In Indonesia itself, the President said, MSMEs that have a strong resilience capacity support the national economy, even in the midst of a global crisis.

However, the President continued, MSMEs often face challenges, particularly related to increasing capacity, accessing capital and alternative financing, access to technology, access to the global market, and integration with regional and global supply chains.

To that end, President Jokowi thought that ASEAN-US cooperation is needed to ensure there is complete support for the development and resilience of MSMEs, particularly in the context of market access and knowledge transfer from large-scale companies to MSMEs.

On the same occasion, President Jokowi also stated that technology and digital economy are inevitable in the digitalization era.

"Every government must ensure that this era can provide benefits for the people, particularly MSMEs. MSMEs must gain access to technology and digital economy," the President said.

According to the President, Indonesia has a vision to make Indonesia the biggest digital economy in 2020.

Therefore, Indonesia strongly supports ASEAN-US cooperation in the field of information technology, particularly the use of digital economy for the public.

"I believe this cooperation can narrow the development gap among ASEAN countries," the President said while closing his speech at the Session I Retreat.

Editor: Fitri Supratiwi

http://www.antaranews.com/berita/545332/jokowi-usung-ekonomi-digital-pada-ktt-as-asean