Indonesian President sworn in for second term

Indonesian President Joko Widodo was officially sworn in on October 20 for his second and final five-year term with a pledge to take bolder actions in infrastructure development.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo

He has pledged to invest heavily in infrastructure, and develop tourism and agriculture hubs which connect sea ports and airports nationwide. He said his Government will focus on improving the country’s human resources in the context that Indonesia is lagging behind neighbouring countries in terms of skilled workers.

In addition, he committed to rolling out red carpet to both domestic and foreign investors, considering them as important sources to create more jobs in the country. He pointed out that corruption and group interest are the main barriers to the foreign capital flow into the Indonesian economy.

He was sworn in at parliament under tight security, with more than 30,000 security personnel deployed in Jakarta following recent student demonstrations and after the country’s security minister was stabbed by a suspected Islamic militant this month./.

VNA