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Indonesia has much to celebrate as it marks its 65th year of independence. The country now boasts a stable democracy and a fast-expanding economy. It is regarded as a major regional power and is a member of the G-20 bloc of the world’s largest economies.

Over the past few years, the state has presided over the conclusion of the longest-running civil war in the country’s history, stabilized its economy to allow the flow of foreign direct investment and begun to address chronic poverty and rebuild its battered and crumbling infrastructure.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Monday that he wants annual economic growth to reach 7.7 percent by the end of his term, a target that is not out of reach. “It’s time that Indonesia not only walks faster but begins to run,” the president noted. “It’s time that we don’t remain a caged tiger but a nation that is competitive on the international scene.”

If the country does attain the goals the president has set, it will indeed rise to join China and India, the two Asian nations widely regarded today as emerging global powers.

Getting there, however, will not be easy and will require hard work, perseverance and commitment on the part of the government and the people as well.

The president mentioned increasing infrastructure spending over the next four years to $161 billion. That is a good start but it will not be sufficient to allow the country to compete on par with other emerging economies. Private-sector investments will be crucial to plug the deficit in government spending but for greater funding to flow, legal certainty and the rule of law must be enforced.

The country also has to narrow the social investment deficit. It must upgrade and reform the education system; it must encourage workers to be more productive through continued training; and it must open up its health care system to international medical practitioners.

And given the recent spate of religiously motivated violence, especially by Islamic hard-line groups who appear to operate above the law, religious harmony and tolerance must be enshrined as bedrocks of society, and no infringement upon them should be tolerated.

Sixty-five years after gaining independence from the Dutch, Indonesia has made tremendous progress as a young nation.

It has molded its diverse ethnic and religious groups into a unified nation under a single flag. It cannot and must not grow complacent and allow minority interests to tear apart its social fabric.

We cannot rest on our laurels. Greater challenges lie ahead and to overcome these hurdles, the nation must be equipped economically, socially and politically. The last few years have been very good, and the next few years can be even better but only if we stand united and proud.