President Joko Widodo has called on regional governments to develop their signature characters and identities to lure more investments.
“Developing regencies’ characters is critical, developing the identity of a regency is necessary for investment,” he said when opening the Regency Administrations Association’s (APKASI) 2015 International Trade and Investment Summit (AITIS) at JIExpo, Kemayoran, Central Jakarta on Wednesday, May 13, 2015.
The summit, themed Seizing the Opportunity of Government Investment Cooperation 2015-2019, will last from May 13-15 to discuss investment opportunities in the infrastructure, tourism, plantation, fisheries and mining sectors.
The president said many regional governments had developed commodities that were in fact absent in their regions rather than develop their original potentialities. He took for example that a region with cacao as its signature commodity had instead offered investments in other commodities.
“Sound communication between regional governments and the central government is necessary,” he said.
The president also asked regency administrations to avoid being trapped in bureaucratic routines so they could make strategic policies for their regions.
“A lot of economic potentialities in regions have yet to be promoted because regional governments are trapped in routines, whereas I see there are a lot to offer to investors,” he said.
Accompanying the president in the event were Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo, Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjajanto, Justice and Human Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly and Trade Minister Rachmat Gobel.
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