VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) echoed Indonesia’s preparedness to contribute to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to realize Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Indonesia works not only for itself but also for the ASEAN, the president remarked while addressing a special lunch on sustainable development at the Impact Exhibition and Convention Center in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday.

"According to the mandate of the Constitution, Indonesia is ready to make a contribution," Chief of the Presidential Secretariat Erlin Suastin quoted President Jokowi as saying in a written statement released on Monday.

The president remarked that despite Indonesia having successfully reduced its poverty rate to a historical low of 9.66 percent in 2018, from 10.96 percent in 2014, the government was not instantly pleased with the figure.

"We are not satisfied with it. We yet have to accomplish several things, while on the hand, we are facing a shortage of time. We only have 11 years left to achieve the target of SDGs," he noted.

At the meeting, President Jokowi also pointed to Indonesia’s economic growth that had consistently surpassed five percent in each of the past five years.

"The unemployment rate, particularly women’s unemployment rate (continues to fall), while simultaneously access to education continues to increase," he stated.

"In the ASEAN, we must encourage efforts to immediately achieve several targets of the SDGs, such as health, environment, and gender equality," he remarked.

Hence, global partnership must be bolstered since one of the priority sectors of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific is to achieve SDGs, he noted.

"Countries in the Indo-Pacific region can use this outlook platform to strengthen cooperation," he added. (ANTARA)