Jakarta, Sept. 18 -- Indonesia's newly appointed Youth and Sports Minister Erick Thohir on Thursday urged youth organizations to become the benchmark for the country's development efforts, while calling for stronger unity and collaboration across sports and youth sectors.

"Youth organizations must become the standard by which we measure our youth development," Thohir said during the ministry's handover ceremony in Jakarta.

He emphasized that sports should serve as a unifying force, not a source of division, and called for a national consolidation among youth groups to build a stronger sense of unity.

"Youth leaders must sit together and discuss where this nation is heading because it will be you who lead in the future, not us," he said...