Jakarta, wapresri.go.id – Openness or transparency is a prerequisite for the government in realizing the progress of the country, especially in an era when democracy, human rights, and information technology are developing rapidly as they are today.

“The rapid development of these three things makes the country now no longer possible to close,” said Vice President Jusuf Kalla when officially opening the Asia Pacific Leaders’ Forum on Open Government at Hotel Borobudur, Jakarta, Thursday (14/12).

The openness of the government, explained the Vice President, will bring positive results, among others accelerating efforts to alleviate poverty and improve the level of education and health. This, he added, is in line with the objectives of sustainable development goals (SDGs) that have been agreed in the UN General Assembly.

Openness, the Vice President said, also makes the government more effective and efficient because the government is encouraged to always improve services to the public.

“With openness, we get criticism and inputs,” he said.

The Vice President who is also the National Bureaucratic Reform Steering Committee (KPRBN) chairman later confirmed that the Indonesian government has made the principle of openness as part of the national development process.

“The Indonesian government is committed to improving transparency and accountability, simplifying cumbersome bureaucracy, and eradicating corruption,” he said.

According to him, the determinants of the success of government openness are commitment of leadership, communication, coordination, and continuous efforts to increase transparency.

Ending his speech, the Vice President hoped that the forum can be a means of sharing information and best practices among Asia-Pacific countries in terms of transparency in government.

“Hopefully, countries in Asia Pacific can be better and more advanced with open government and society,” he concluded.

The Asia Pacific Leaders’ Forum on Open Government is a regional forum that brings together government leaders, civic organizations, development partners, and the private sector to share experiences on the relationship between government openness and inclusive development.

The forum is attended by several prominent speakers, including Second Vice-President of Afghanistan Mohammad Sarwar Danesh and Kirgizstan Deputy Prime Minister Cholpon Sultanbekova. The Forum is organized in cooperation between Open Government Indonesia, which is a joint team of the Office of the Presidential Staff, the Ministry of National Development Planning/the National Development Planning Agency, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and development partners. (AKS/FM, KIP Setwapres)