"I am here to convince you that we will continue with our reform effort by continuing to simplify licensing procedures and we will open our economy," Jokowi said.
London (ANTARA News) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has asked British businessmen to invest in Indonesia as one of the solutions to deal with the economic slowdown that the world is currently seeing.

The invitation to invest came at a business forum featuring Indonesian and British businessmen at Hotel Mandarin Oriental here on Wednesday.

"It is very clear that the world is currently facing a lot of challenges, starting from the economic transition in China, social and security challenges in Europe to the economic slowdown in various countries. According to me, the solution is simple: keep calm and invest in Indonesia," he said.

Addressing the businessmen from the two countries, President Jokowi tried to convince them that Indonesia is a country worth investing in.

Amidst world economic slowdown, Indonesia is still able to post fairly good economic growth rate. "While the growth is estimated at only 4.8 percent, we can even reach 5.04 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015. I believe Indonesia has a stable economy," he said.

President Jokowi mentioned infrastructure development and investment as two engines of economic growth for Indonesia right now.

He said ever since he assumed leadership, he has launched the largest number of infrastructure development projects in the countrys history.

"You can check with your journalists in Indonesia or ask your ambassador about them. I am convinced they will be surprised at the number of infrastructure projects in Indonesia," he said.

To convince the businessmen, President Jokowi said he would continue carrying out economic reforms based on the fundamental principles of transparency and competition.

"I am here to convince you that we will continue with our reform effort by continuing to simplify licensing procedures and we will open our economy," he said.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016