Former prime minister Zoran Milanovic (53) has been elected the new president of Croatia on Sunday.After all 2,053,292 votes were counted, Milanovic won 52.67%  in Sunday’s presidential election runoff against incumbent Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic (47.33%) to become the fifth elected president of Croatia and the second president to have been officially nominated by the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the largest centre-left political party in Croatia, after Ivo Josipovic. 

“Thanks to everyone who supported me, who didn’t support me, thanks to the all candidates, and to Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic. It was a long, tough campaign. Croatian citizens elected me as the president of Croatia for all citizens and I am happy about that,” Milanovic said on Sunday night.

“I’ll be a president with character that will always oppose violence, injustice and protect the weak. I consider myself mature and in good faith willing to do the job, but it is more than a job, it is a way of life. No one in Croatia in which I will be president will feel like a second-class citizen. Nobody. I will not divide Croatian citizens,” Milanovic stated earlier.

Born in Zagreb, Milanovic graduated from the Zagreb Faculty of Law and then started his career working in the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He served as an advisor at the Croatian Mission to the European Union and NATO in Brussels from 1996–99. That same year he joined the Social Democratic Party. In 1998 he earned his master’s degree in European Union law and was an assistant to the Foreign Minister of Croatia for political multilateral affairs in 2003.

In 2007, Milanovic was elected President of the SDP and served as Prime Minister of Croatia from December 2011 to January 2016. He was the leader of the SDP from 2007 to 2016. Milanovic is married with two kids and also speaks English, Russian and French.

Milanovic secured the most votes in the first round of voting on 22 December with 29.6%, whilst Grabar-Kitarovic received 26.4% of the votes to force today’s runoff vote.

Voter turnout on Sunday was 54.99%. Out of the total number of votes,  52,373 came in from abroad.

The function of Croatia’s presidency is largely ceremonial. The president formally commands the army and represents the country abroad. (Croatian Week)

Jakarta - Indonesia must be ready to anticipate tensions between the United States and Iran otherwise it can affect the country’s economic growth, the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) believes.  

"Certainly, global uncertainty is affecting our economy. Investors who want to expand their business domestically should wait and see. Indonesia must be prepared to accept new uncertainties," a researcher of Indef Rusli Abdullah said when contacted in Jakarta Friday.

The US-Iran conflict could become an open war in the Middle East region that will eventually push up commodity prices especially that of world oil, according to him.

Soaring oil prices could be a challenge amid government efforts to reduce deficits in the trade balance and current account, he continued.

Brent Crude Oil Futures Prices recorded at US$68.44 per barrel. While the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil was $62.89 per barrel.

Meanwhile, in the 2020 State Budget, the price of Indonesian crude oil (ICP) is assumed to be $63 per barrel.

"The current price of oil is still relatively conducive. But if it reaches $70-80 per barrel, it can burden the state budget," Rusli said.

The domino effect of rising oil prices would mean an increase in inflation in 2020 compared to the previous year, he said.

"After the oil increase, the impact will affect domestic fuel prices which will ultimately have an impact on logistics and transportation costs, and that can also have an impact on prices of basic commodities. In the end, it can drive inflation," he explained.

To maintain national economic growth, there was a need to review the mix of government policies, Rusli suggested. The government must focus on maintaining people's purchasing power.

"Then it will make investment easier, but the Indonesian market is large," he said.

The government should carry out debt restructuring because the majority of Indonesia's debt was in US dollars, the founder of LBP Institute, Lucky Bayu Purnomo said separately.

"If oil prices rise, the US dollar can strengthen. Oil transactions usually use the US dollar," Bayu remarked. (ANTARA)

Jakarta - In the next five years, economic diplomacy will be strengthened through special assignments given by President Joko Widodo to Deputy Foreign Minister Mahendra Siregar, as well as concrete assignments to Indonesian representatives in other countries. However, several challenges are still expected to come in the way of Indonesia's efforts to strengthen economic diplomacy, including the increasing level rivalry and competition, protectionism, and populism.

"This negative trend must be transformed into positive energy. Pessimism in the world must be changed into optimism. It is important to transform rivalry into cooperation. The trust deficit must be replaced by strategic trust," said Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi as she delivered the 2020 Annual Minister of Foreign Affairs (PPTM) Statement in Jakarta, Wednesday.

Amid the global economic challenges, Indonesia aims to be on the frontline of the effort to push collaboration forward, one that is mutually beneficial, just and stray away from the zero-sum game.

With a large market and population of productive age, Indonesia will capitalize on such assets to develop mutually beneficial economic cooperation with other countries.

Indonesia's economic diplomacy is focused on attracting quality investment in supporting Indonesia's sustainable development priorities, infrastructure development, human resource development, strengthening downstream industries and developing outermost islands, including the Natuna Islands.

Indonesia continues to develop high value-added industries, based on national natural resources, and improve the quality of development to stay away from the middle-income trap.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs seeks to also encourage and develop Indonesia's outbound investment policy abroad for market expansion and enhancing industrial competitiveness at the global level.

From the initial mapping conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are at least 285 Indonesian outbound investments at the moment, with a value of US$14.30 billion.

"This is an asset of the Indonesian economy that must continue to be guarded, facilitated and developed," Foreign Minister Retno said.

Besides, several economic cooperation negotiations have been prioritized by Indonesia for 2020, including the ratification of the I-EFTA CEPA; RCEP signing; intensification of PTA / FTA / CEPA negotiations with African, South and Central Asian and Pacific countries; assessment of the FTA with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), and encouraging the implementation of economic agreements that have previously been signed with partner countries. (ANTARA)

Jakarta - The Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) believed that people's purchasing power must be maintained in order to sustain the national economy in the midst of the conflict between the United States and Iran.

"In order to maintain national economic growth, the policy mix is expected to be reviewed. The government must focus on maintaining the people's purchasing power because global uncertainty increases after the US-China trade war," Indef researcher, Rusli Abdullah, said when contacted in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The government's target of economic growth of 5.3 percent is expected to be quite high amid the unsupportive global sentiment.

"The target of economic growth of 5 percent is estimated to be quite severe due to the US-Iran conflict and the US-China trade war," he said.

In order to sustain the economy to continue to grow and to be maintained, the government must be able to further facilitate investment into the country.

"In addition to maintaining the people's purchasing power, the government should facilitate investment in the country," he said.

In the midst of global uncertainty, the public or investors in the financial markets were advised to be more careful in making their choices.

"Investment in precious metals or gold is considered the best at the moment to maintain the value of assets," he said.

In addition, he continued, state securities are also still quite promising, both in terms of security and in providing yields.

"That is because there is a guarantee from the government," he said.

While investing in the capital market, he suggested that investors choose company shares in the consumer sector, such as food and beverages.

"In the midst of turmoil, demand will remain strong," he said. (ANTARA)