Jakarta – Minister of Finance Boediono expressed optimism on Thursday that the economy will grow by 4 percent this year, despite a downturn in the global economy.

"We are continuing to project it at 4 percent. We are optimistic about it because our exports remain strong," Boediono said as quoted by Antara here on Thursday.

He was responding to a World Bank forecast presented by its vice president, Jemal-ud-din, at a teleconference with journalists earlier in the day.

In its forecast, the World Bank has revised downward East Asia's growth rate to 5 percent, from 6 percent, due to the US-led war in Iraq and the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The World Bank also maintained its previous forecast that the Indonesian economy would grow by 3.3 percent this year, despite the Iraq war and SARS.

Boediono said Indonesia's exports were able to withstand the global economic slowdown because they were diversified, and some of the commodities were highly priced at present. "I am optimistic that if we work hard, we can achieve 4 percent growth," he said.