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Lecturer of the Medan State University's Faculty of Economics Armin Rahmansyah Nasution,SE,MSi . (ANTARA/HO)

A Medan State University (Unimed) economist believes that Indonesia can no longer overly rely on imports amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic but should instead focus on using domestic products.

"We can no longer pin too much expectations on imports since we are facing a current deficit account that has laid increasing pressure on the government budget," Armin Rahmansyah Nasution stated in connection with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Indonesia's economy.

Apart from the current deficit account, the fact that the novel coronavirus pandemic continues unabated is also another aspect that should be taken into account for relying on domestic products rather than importing goods from other nations, he remarked in Medan, North Sumatra, on Tuesday.

Hence, all Indonesians should take pride in the products made in their own country.

"Let us give priority to our own products rather than purchase those made by foreign countries. The quality of several of our own products is also much better than those of other countries," he affirmed.

Nasution believes that opting to use Indonesian-made products would help the country become strong, well-developed, and self-sufficient in future

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) had launched a national campaign, with the hashtag #BanggaBuatanIndonesia (Proud of the Indonesian Products), on May 14, 2020, in a bid to promote products made in Indonesia.

The national movement reflects the government's support and encouragement to Indonesians to use domestically made products, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his remarks at the inauguration event held via videoconferencing on May 14, the president called on Indonesians to harness their strengths amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We must look again at what our strengths are. Once again, we need to delve deeper into what are our strengths and weaknesses. What is lacking, the shortcoming. Of course, we must immediately improve, and our strengths must be utilized," Jokowi remarked.

The president was appreciative of the immense strength and hard work of Indonesians while commending the nation's talent pool for having produced good-quality products.

The head of state averred that the pandemic could not stifle the creativity of Indonesians.

"To expedite the handling of COVID-19 in the health sector, we have succeeded in developing PCR test kits, rapid diagnostic test or RDT kits, and also ventilators and mobile BSL 2. We hope that by the end of May, all these innovations would already be mass-produced. Thus, we would not need to depend again on imported products," he affirmed.

Jokowi emphasized that Indonesia, as a vast nation, is proud of its people's creativity and innovations. (ANTARA)