Jakarta. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has issued a decree acknowledging Jakarta's significance as the country’s financial and business center, even as his government pursues the relocation of the national capital to Nusantara in East Kalimantan.

The decree, published on the State Secretariat’s website on Monday, designates Jakarta as “holding special functions as the center of the national economy and a global city.”

It outlines a plan to designate Jakarta as a special autonomous city, albeit with governance similar to a province in scale. The decree confirms that the Jakarta governorship will remain an elected office, dispelling earlier concerns that the city would be led by a presidential appointee.

Jokowi has previously unveiled a plan to inaugurate the new capital during the national Independence Day ceremony to be held in Nusantara in August.

However, as the future capital is still under construction, Jakarta will continue to function as the national capital until a new presidential regulation is issued, as per the decree.

The relocation process will take years to complete given that the construction of many key government facilities, such as the parliament building, has yet to commence.

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