Heru Andriyanto, Davos – President Prabowo Subianto on Thursday underscored Indonesia's fiscal credibility, telling participants at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the country has never failed to honor its debt obligations, regardless of changes in government.
"Our credibility – hard-earned over many years – has been protected. Credibility, once lost, is very expensive to regain," Prabowo said in his speech streamed live by the Presidential Secretariat.
"Indonesia in our history has never once defaulted on the payment of our debt – not once. Succeeding regimes always paid the debt of the preceding regime. Successive presidents will always honor the debts of the previous administration," he added.
Prabowo also highlighted the resilience of Indonesia's economy, noting that growth has averaged above 5% annually over the past decade, even as the global economy faced tighter financial conditions, trade tensions, and political uncertainty.
"And I'm confident that this year, our growth will be higher," he said, adding that inflation remains at around 2% and the budget deficit is capped below 3% of GDP.
"International institutions did not praise us because of unfounded optimism. They did so because of evidence and they recognized that Indonesia's economy is resilient. Our policies have been and will always be well calibrated," Prabowo said.