• G20 Summit & Indonesia: President Joko Widodo Speaks in Hangzhou

    At the G20 summit in Hangzhou (China) Indonesian President Joko Widodo urged the leaders of the 20 strongest economies, in particular leaders of the advanced economies, to curb protectionist measures (tariff and non-tariff barriers) as these measures entail negative consequences for emerging markets. Trade could be the engine of international economic growth. Protectionism, however, undermines the flow of trade and therefore blocks accelerated economic growth. Widodo made this statement on Monday (05/09) at the third session of the G20 summit in Hangzhou's International Expo Center.

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  • Economic Growth Indonesia in 2016? Key Lies in Regions

    After Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said she expects Indonesia's gross domestic product growth at 5.1 percent (y/y) in full-year 2016, Chief Economics Minister Darmin Nasution is slightly more optimistic. Nasution puts his GDP growth projection at 5.2 percent (y/y) this year despite the government's spending budget being cut by IDR 137.5 trillion. According to Nasution, rising investment realization should push economic growth to 5.2 percent (y/y), offsetting the negative impact of fewer state spending.

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  • Queen Máxima (Netherlands) Visits Indonesia for Financial Inclusion Talks

    Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, who was in Indonesia for a three-day visit (30 August - 1 September), emphasized the importance of financial inclusion. Máxima, who came in her role as United Nation's Secretary-General's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA), met several high-positioned policy makers and officials (including Indonesian President Joko Widodo) in Jakarta and made a field trip to a school in Bogor (West Java) to inspect a student savings program that was initiated by Indonesia's Financial Services Authority (OJK).

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  • Radical Islam in Indonesia: Lone Wolf Attack in Catholic Church

    The 17-year-old Ivan Armadi who tried to kill a Catholic priest and detonate a self-made bomb during the Sunday service (28/08) in a church in Medan (North Sumatra) is one example of the Islamic State sympathizers that are present in Indonesia. Although the police investigation indicates that there are no direct links between Armadi and existing militant networks within Indonesia or abroad, the case shows that there are so-called "lone-wolves" in Indonesia who are inspired by radical Islamic doctrine and can learn to make bombs from the Internet.

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