NewsIndonesia, President Joko Widodo, jokowi, Silicon Valley
Oct 27, 2015 09:52 PM EDT
Indonesia will jumpstart the e-commerce industry with president Joko Widodo's trip to US next week. In a scheduled trip, President Joko Widodo, more familiary called as Jokowi, will meet president Obama, U.S. congressional leaders, and high level executives in Silicon Valley.
According to Reuters, during President Jokowi's trip, there will be series of meetings with executives from big companies. One of which are with Tim Cook, Apple CEO and executives from Google, Facebook and Microsoft. The meeting with Silicon Valley executives was meant to attract foreign investment to e-Commerce factor to boost Indonesian economics after a six-year slowdown. President Jokowi in his first year in the office, has a very strong determination to push forward economic revival despite a strong opposition from his political opponents in the parliament.
E-commerce sector is one of the three sectors which has been the focus on economic strategy together with health and creative-industry. According to Jakarta Post, those three sectors are the least open to foreign investment and highly regulated. Therefore, as Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister Darmin Nasution told reporters, Indonesian government is reviewing policy on those three sectors to deregulate and attract foreign investment.
In the interview with Wall Street Journal, president Jokowi also said about prospect of Indonesia to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership or TPP trade will be high on his agenda in his visit to United States. However, President Jokowi declines to talk further about Indonesia's intention to join the partnership. TPP is also co-founded by Indonesia's fellow ASEAN countries, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, along with neighboring Australia as well.
However, series of a boycott from parliament resulting a political stalemate has given a setback to his effort to boost Indonesian economy. With such difficulties, president Jokowi managed to move forward, with a smart move to invite foreign investment in the e-commerce sector, as he intends to achieve in his last part of the trip to U.S.
President Jokowi rose to the presidency from a humble beginning as a furniture seller in Solo. He started his political career as a major of his hometown. Afterward, he teamed up with Basuki Purnama or most popular as Ahok as his running mate won a landslide victory in Jakarta's governor post. His leadership style is paired up well with Ahok, bringing a new perspective in Jakarta administration and management. Later on, he became the candidate for president in the 2014 presidential election and managed to win people's vote who put a high hope in his down-to-earth leadership style.