Jokowi, First Lady shop for Wakatobi MSME products in bulk

Jakarta, June 9 (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and First Lady Iriana Joko Widodo shopped in bulk for products of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) at Wakatobi District, Southeast Sulawesi, on Thursday. The couple bought all food products from one MSME booth exhibition near the 2022 Agrarian Reform Task Force (GTRA) Summit meeting venue. Jokowi's administration has repeatedly emphasized that MSMEs must rise, for which the government has provided facilities, schemes, and assistance to empower and enhance them, according to the Presidential Staff Office (KSP) website. "I am happy, as a mentor to MSMEs because their products are selling well, and all of them are bought by him, thank you very much, Mr. President," Salfiah, a mentor to one of the Wakatobi MSMEs, stated. The MSMEs' products that Jokowi and Iriana bought comprised an array of snack products typical of Southeast Sulawesi. Salfiah also admitted that Jokowi specially ordered one of Wakatobi's signature snack products, which is shredded tuna fish. She expressed optimism that the president's visit would be able to revive MSMEs in the country and boost economic growth of each region. "Hopefully, they will keep developing because we know that the regional economic growth is inseparable from MSMEs. These MSMEs must be the president's top priority," Salfiah stated. On the same occasion, Jenita, who sells Wakatobi souvenir t-shirts, also expected that Jokowi and his wife's visit would be able to improve the welfare of Wakatobi's MSMEs and community. "Hopefully, with Mr. President's visit here, Wakatobi will become more advanced and more prosperous," she remarked. During the visit to Wakatobi, the president was accompanied by Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/Head of the National Land Agency (BPN) Sofyan Djalil, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno, Southeast Sulawesi Governor Ali Mazi, and Wakatobi District Head Haliana.