Aceh – President Joko Widodo inaugurated the AMANAH Building in the Aceh Industrial Area (KIA) Ladong, Mesjid Raya District, Aceh Besar, on Tuesday, October 15, 2024. This inauguration confirms President Jokowi’s commitment to advancing Indonesian Human Resources (HR), especially in Aceh, to compete at the global level.
In his remarks, President Jokowi emphasized the importance of building superior human resources amidst global uncertainty.
“We are in a time of uncertainty, both in terms of the global economy and geopolitics. However, the key is to create superior human resources so that we can compete with other countries. Alhamdulillah, our economy is still growing above 5 percent and we hope that with the inauguration of the new President, Mr. Prabowo Subianto, our economy will improve,” said President Jokowi.
President Jokowi also expressed his admiration for the innovation of Aceh’s young people, especially in the fashion and design sector.
“Today I am very impressed by the creativity of Aceh’s young people. The Muslim fashion and designs they produce are very classy. I also see an extraordinary leap, especially in bag and coffee products, which are now not only exported in raw form, but are already well packaged,” said President Jokowi.
Furthermore, President Jokowi highlighted Aceh’s great potential in two main commodities: coffee and patchouli.
“Aceh coffee is very famous, as is patchouli which is the best quality in the world. Big perfume producers rely heavily on patchouli from Aceh, and now it is being marketed to France as the world perfume center. This is a big leap,” he said.
The Head of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), Police General (Ret.) Prof. Dr. Budi Gunawan, SH, M.Sc., Ph.D, as the initiator of AMANAH was also present and praised President Jokowi’s leadership which has brought equitable development to remote areas of the country. In his remarks, Budi Gunawan emphasized that the AMANAH Youth Creative Hub was a direct idea from President Jokowi.
“This AMANAH is the fruit of the President’s thoughts towards the youth in Aceh. His order was given when inaugurating the Papua Youth Creative Hub, and this shows his love for the young generation, both in the East and West of Indonesia,” said Budi Gunawan
Budi Gunawan also explained that to date, more than 20,000 young Acehnese have joined AMANAH, which proves the effectiveness of this program in encouraging creativity and productivity.
“We should be proud, products produced by AMANAH, such as patchouli and coffee, already have an international market. This is all thanks to the full support of the President,” he added.
In addition to superior products, Budi also highlighted technological advances implemented in Aceh, such as the use of drones for precision fertilization and artificial intelligence (AI)-based agricultural applications.
“This proves that Aceh’s youth are not inferior to youth in Jakarta in terms of technological innovation. I am very proud,” said Budi.
In closing, Budi expressed his deep appreciation to President Jokowi for his concern for Aceh and the younger generation.
“Thank you, Mr. Jokowi, for your attention and concern. This AMANAH is your mandate for the future of Aceh, and it will always be remembered as a legacy that brings great hope for the prosperity and progress of Aceh,” concluded Budi Gunawan.