VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - Indonesia is among the few countries that have managed to recover from global crises thrice, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has said.

The three major crises faced by Indonesia comprise the monetary crisis in 1998, the global financial crisis in 2008, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Indonesia is one among few countries who, after experiencing crises three times and learning from (those) crises, we can recover and manage crises well," the state treasurer said at the Indonesia Data and Economic Conference hosted by research company Katadata here on Thursday.

According to her, this success is owing to Indonesia's skill in observing and reviewing data as well as learning from its experiences.

She said that Indonesia made efforts to extend aid during every crisis, for instance, during the 1998 crisis, when the financial sector was almost at its downfall.

The state also actively managed the situation during the 2008 global crisis to ensure stability, she added.

Everyone has also jointly participated in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, she noted.

"So, if there is a crisis, the state's finances will have a part (in addressing the issue). Hence, in crises, we always place state's finances as the first and foremost of instruments," she added.

She assured that consistent efforts will be made to maintain the readiness of the state's financial instruments to face future crises, as Indonesia has learned from extensive crises, particularly those affecting its financial sector.

The efforts have included improving banking sector regulation and developing the non-banking financial sector, particularly insurance and retirement funds, Indrawati highlighted.

Indonesia's success in managing crises has been proved by the state's consistent economic growth, which crossed 5 percent during some consecutive quarters, she added.

Moreover, the state budget's deficit, which, at one point, exceeded 3 percent because of the COVID-19 pandemic, was successfully brought down to below 3 percent in 2022, she pointed out.

The achievement was in line with Law Number 2 of 2022, specifically the plan to bring down the state budget deficit below 3 percent by 2023, she added.

"This is the fastest fiscal consolidation," she said. (Antaranews)