Indonesia no longer a Third-World economy, says SBY

Esther Samboh, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Tue, 08/16/2011

Indonesia is no longer a Third-World economy as has been labeled in the past, and is moving closer to becoming one of the world's ten largest economies, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says.

In his annual speech at the House of Representatives in connection with Indonesian Independence Day, Yudhoyono said "the perception of [Indonesia being] a failed state has diminished" after sailing through the financial crisis in 1997/1998 and 2008/2009.

"Now, a lot of people call Indonesia an emerging economy, not a Third-World economy, which, for more than 60 years, was associated with our country," he said.

"With full confidence while still being humble, I can assure you we are not a country on the brink of failure and bankruptcy."

After the 1997/1998 Asian financial crisis, Indonesia was in a "very critical" situation and was perceived as a country that could fail and go bankrupt, with negative economic growth and market players losing confidence in the financial and banking industries, he added.

At present, however, Indonesia is known as the world's third-largest democracy and Southeast Asia's biggest economy, Yudhoyono said.

"All of our achievements in the recent years have affirmed that there is trust and that a road toward a better future lies ahead of us, for us to pass through together.