Jakarta. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati expressed confidence on Friday that Indonesia will not fall into recession this year despite the prospect of escalating national political tensions ahead of the general elections and economic sufferings among global powers which become Indonesia's biggest trading partners.

International Monetary Fund Head Kristalina Georgieva has warned that a third of countries in the world will be in recession this year amid the war in Ukraine, inflation hikes, soaring interest rates, and the continued Covid-19 pandemic in China.

"We won’t be included in that one-third of countries, God willing. I have repeatedly said that our economy is recovering strongly until the third quarter [of last year] and most likely in the fourth quarter as well when the projected growth is around 5 percent -- so throughout 2022 the national economic growth will top 5 percent,” Sri Mulyani said during a gathering with major media companies in Jakarta.

She said Indonesia is entering a “very interesting” and challenging year because all political candidates and parties are gearing up for the 2024 elections – the monumental event when all members of the legislatures, mayors, district heads, governors, and the president will be elected in the same year for the first time in history.

“We have a major political agenda this year, namely the run-up to the election that will escalate tension, not to mention extraordinary global economic challenges,” she said.

During the gathering, Sri Mulyani presented the Finance Ministry awards to media outlets for best reporting on finance and macroeconomic policies, called the Media Nagara Rakca Dana Award.

Business newspaper Investor Daily won the award in the print category and also had its journalist, Triyan Pangastuti, awarded for the best article.

“Our institution and the media serve as important pillars for Indonesia to maintain healthy, good, and reliable social contract – the terms I continuously use to describe the relationship between state institutions and the people,” Sri Mulyani said.