The Purnomo Yusgiantoro Center attended the opening of the 52nd Jakarta Fair 2019 on 29th May 2019. This event was attended by government officials, NGO representatives, foreign embassy representatives, and many more. The opening started with a “Neneng Betawi” dance and followed by the speech from the Head of Jakarta Fair Kemayoran 2019 Committee, Prajna Murdaya. He talked about the growth of Jakarta Fair since it had been taken over by PT Jakarta International Expo in 2003. Previously, the event was called Pekan Raya Jakarta (PRJ). In 2003, it attracted 2 million people and recorded around 2 trillion IDR cash flow. In 2005, it already grew significantly, drew 3 million people with 3.5 trillion IDR transaction value and continued to grow ever since. Last year, the cash flow reached an enormous amount of money, around 7 trillion IDR from 6.7 million visitors.
The speech from Prajna Murdaya was followed by the governor of Jakarta, Anies Rasyid Baswedan, Ph.D. He mainly talked about the condition of Jakarta and congratulated the Jakarta Fair committee for the 52nd Jakarta Fair Kemayoran. He stated that demonstrations after the election result announcement were only located in a few parts of Jakarta, while the rest is still conducive. He ended his speech with a report on the economic condition of Jakarta, which in this first quarter of 2019 records a 6.23% growth, higher than the last two years.
The last speaker was the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Darmin Nasution, Ph.D., who represented the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo. He began his speech by bringing up the theme of Jakarta Fair Kemayoran, which is “Indonesia Bersatu” and hoped that Indonesia will always remain in peace and harmony. He also highlighted the history of Jakarta Fair, which was introduced by the head of Indonesian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KADIN Indonesia) in 1968 and formerly held in the Monas area with 1,4 million capacity. However, due to the significant growth of interest from the public, the event was relocated to the Jakarta International Expo Kemayoran in 1992 with a higher capacity. He expressed his gratitude for the event as it contributes to the economic growth in Indonesia, especially for the entrepreneurs as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). He ended his speech by highlighting the importance of e-commerce for the Indonesian economy, which records a 40% growth each year.
Lastly, the opening was ended with a fireworks show and musical theatre performances.
