VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo opened the 7th Indonesian Sharia Economic Festival (ISEF) in 2020. In his remarks, the President expressed his wish that Indonesia could become a center of excellence for the Islamic economy at the global level.

Islamic economics and finance still have vast potential for further development. In fact, Islamic economics and finance are not only in demand by countries with a Muslim majority population but also other countries such as Japan, Thailand, Britain, and the United States are interested in considering their potential.

For this reason, through his remarks at the opening of the 7th Indonesia Sharia Economic Festival (ISEF) in 2020, President Joko Widodo said that Indonesia must quickly grasp this opportunity and potential.

Insert: Indonesia with the largest Muslim population in the world must seize this opportunity by encouraging the acceleration, acceleration, economic development and national sharia finance as part of the transformation towards an advanced Indonesia and efforts to make Indonesia a reference center for the global sharia economy.

Domestically, Indonesia already has a National Committee on Sharia Economics and Finance (KNEKS) to welcome these opportunities by striving to accelerate economic growth and Islamic finance. A number of strategies are being taken to make this happen, including strengthening the halal value chain, strengthening Islamic finance, strengthening micro, small and medium enterprises, and strengthening the digital economy.

The President said the holding of ISEF could be momentum to further develop the economic and financial potential of sharia by making a clear and detailed road map and determining concrete steps that must be taken immediately.

Insert: The Islamic finance industry is a sleeping giant. Currently, the government has a great interest in resurrecting this giant.

Since some time ago, the government has developed the sharia economy and finance at the grassroots level, namely by developing micro-banks in various places in Indonesia in collaboration with existing Islamic boarding schools and religious organizations. In this way, the Head of State hopes that the Islamic financial industry can become an alternative financial instrument to advance the people's economy.

In addition, according to Jokowi, the development of a sharia economy based on the real sector, labor-intensive and the halal industry is also very potential to expand employment and open new business opportunities. Indonesia has a lot of superior halal products, some of which have gone global.

According to Jokowi, the great potential in the halal industry must be integrative and comprehensive by improving the sharia industry ecosystem. Besides that, according to him, the government will also simplify regulations to make it more effective, including preparing supporting human resources. (VOI)