Indonesia Sets the Bar Higher in Hosting International Conferences

Nusa Dua, Bali - The hosting of the 2018 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund-World Bank Group (AM IMF-WBG) has raised the standard for other countries in hosting similar events.

“Standard of hosting events like the IMF-WB must be upgraded because what Indonesia has done is truly world-class,” said Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs at Bali Art, Saturday (13/10).

Approaching the closing of this event on Sunday (14/10), praises flow from many countries and none of them does di praise Indonesia’s success as host.

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan said that IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde during the Host Country Reception also applauded Indonesia’s success in hosting the event. “Well done. Everything is well-organized. It’s beyond our expectation. We did not expect that it would be so well-organized. Nothing is late. All events were convened on time. Congratulations” Luhut said, quoting Lagarde’s statement.

The same praise also comes from investors who also became participants of the AM IMF-WB, Luhut said.

“I met directors of Standard Chartered Bank and Citibank. They expressed a high appreciation. And they said they’ve attended conferences of this scale and this one is much better than the other events they have attended. Indonesia is now a world-class host,” he said.

Luhut added that compared with the same meeting in Lima (Peru), which was disorganized, the 2018 AM IMG-WB in Indonesia is beyond compare and that Indonesia is also much better in ensuring security, punctuality in every session in the event, as well as ensuring smooth traffic.

Indonesia’s success as the host, the Minister added, has also given a positive impact in terms of trust from the international community to invest in Indonesia. He added that this is important amidst the uncertainty of global economic condition until the next several years.

For the record, the 2018 AM IMF-WB is claimed to become the biggest one in the history of the events, seen from the very big number of participants.

“Based on our record, there are 36,619 participants,” Luhut said, adding that the number of participants is almost double of the government’s prediction at 19,000 people. He added following the event, Bali’s economic growth is expected to be above 6.54% higher than the national economic growth.

Luhut further said that one of the economic impacts from this event comes from tourism sector as several participants reportedly extend their stay in Bali for vacation. “There are almost 3,000 participants who visit various tourist destinations in Bali, Lombok, Mandalika, Gili Trawangan. There are also some who visit Labuan Bajo, Komodo, and even Lake Toba,” he said.

“Some participants also visit Panglipuran traditional village in Bangli, Ubud Kintamani, Tanah Lot, and many other places. So they did not only attend the meetings but also enjoyed tourist destinations. For us, this is a free promotion for Bali,” he said.

Echoing a similar sentiment, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said that in the next two years, Morocco will become the host of the next AM IMF-WB and they are under pressure because Indonesia’s standard is very high. “They are very worried. Even Saudi Arabia, which will host the G20 Summit, is also doing observation during the event. They are impressed,” Sri Mulyani said. (Gusti Andry/Translator: Ersan)

In the meantime, Bali Governor I Wayan Koster also said the event also promotes Bali also among the participants, who come from 189 countries. “We really thank Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and the Central Government for giving us the trust to host the event,” he said.