Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has instructed his cabinet ministers to explore ways to lower the prices of medicines and medical equipment, with the goal of enhancing competitiveness with other countries.The directive was issued during a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday, as reported by Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin.
"We currently face high prices for medical equipment and medicines," he quoted Jokowi as saying.
Jokowi emphasized the need for resilience in the domestic medical industry, particularly in preparation for future pandemics. The meeting discussed the underlying reasons for the elevated costs of medicines and medical equipment.
Sadikin underlined possible inefficiencies in trade routes and stressed the importance of transparent governance to prevent unnecessary price hikes.
Medicine prices in Indonesia tend to be three to five times higher than those in Malaysia, partly due to trade inefficiencies.
To address this, Sadikin plans to engage in discussions with domestic medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical associations to find effective solutions.
The meeting also covered taxation within the health industry. Sadikin assured that the government is working on implementing efficient and straightforward tax policies without disrupting government revenues.
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Additionally, coordination among technical ministries was discussed, especially when encouraging industry development.
Sadikin pointed out inconsistencies, such as the zero percent import duty on ultrasonography devices versus the 15 percent duty charged to the domestic industry for materials and components used in manufacturing the same devices.
"This is where the inconsistencies occur," he revealed.
