VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Mar. 17 - Technology and innovation must become the mainstay of the economy if national development has to be achieved, Minister of Research and Technology and head of the National Research and Innovation Agency, Bambang Brodjonegoro, has said.

“Science technology and innovation are no longer a sector, but must become the foundation of national development. In other words, I also want to emphasize that it is time for science and innovation to become mainstream in national economic development," the minister said during a webinar on ‘Enhancing Knowledge & Innovation Ecosystems for a Better Indonesia’ here on Tuesday.

The webinar was organized by the Knowledge Sector Initiative (KSI) and Kompas daily.

Without mainstreaming innovation, Indonesia would find it difficult to escape the middle-income trap, Brodjonegoro said.

"If I can say honestly, we could not even dream of escaping the middle-income trap, considering that our journey so far has focused more on natural resources-based economy," he explained.

By bringing science technology and innovation to the mainstream, Indonesia can automatically create an inclusive innovation-based economy, he said.

One of the countries implementing innovations, especially in technology, is China, he noted. China has become one of the countries with the largest GDPs (gross domestic product) in the world and it has almost reached the position of a high-income country, he remarked.

China has also succeeded in drastically reducing its poverty rate, while at the same time maintaining equal distribution of income between residents, the minister noted.

"This is perhaps a lesson we have to learn where an innovation-based economy is not only growth-oriented, but also rotates to alleviate poverty and maintain or improve equity," he said.

Brodjonegoro stressed the need to formulate regulations supporting innovation, and said there must be no regulation that hampers innovation.

At the webinar, Minister of National Development Planning, Suharso Monoarfa, said that his party is ready to support the implementation of the Knowledge and Innovation Ecosystem Blueprint.

He said the knowledge and innovation ecosystem approach would be integrated into the Government Work Plan (RKP) 2022 and the National Long-Term Development Plan (RPJPN) for 2026-2045. (Antaranews)