Govt urged to focus on economic issues at APEC<\/p>\n
Adianto P.Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government should take advantage of this week's Asia
\nPacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering in Shanghai to help
\nrebuild foreign investors' confidence in the ailing economy,
\neconomists said.<\/p>\n
Sri Adiningsih of Gadjah Mada University said on Tuesday that
\nthe government should explain to the international community the
\nvarious economic policies being taken to rehabilitate the
\neconomy, and measures to guarantee a stable security and
\npolitical condition.<\/p>\n
\"The government should use this opportunity to explain its
\neconomic policies and the real situation in Indonesia to APEC
\nmembers,\" Sri told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Sri said that the APEC economies are both potential investors
\nand markets for the Indonesian economy.<\/p>\n
Top officials of the 21-member nations of APEC will meet on
\nOct. 20-21 in the industrial and trade center of China to further
\ndiscuss efforts to speed up the trade and investment
\nliberalization agenda agreed under the so-named Bogor goals.<\/p>\n
The Bogor goals, named after the Indonesian hill resort where
\nAPEC leaders met in 1994, commit the 21 APEC economies to free
\ntrade and investment in the Asia Pacific region by 2010 for
\ndeveloped countries, and by 2020 for developing countries.<\/p>\n
But there have been fears that the U.S. would try to drive the
\nAPEC leaders to be more focused on efforts to fight terrorism.<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri will take part in this
\nmeeting.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia needs international support to put the economy back
\non its feet again,\" Sri said.<\/p>\n
Foreign investors have been discouraged from entering the
\ncountry due to a combination of domestic security and economic
\nproblems.<\/p>\n
The grim world economic outlook is also creating new
\nuncertainty for the prospects of the country's economic recovery
\nprocess.<\/p>\n
While the government has forecast that the economy would grow
\nby 3.5 percent this year and 4 percent next year, some analysts
\ndoubt this, as the world economic slump will hit hard the
\ncountry's export sector.<\/p>\n
But Finance Minister Boediono said on Tuesday that Indonesia's
\neconomy should be less vulnerable to the world economic slowdown
\nas the country's non-oil and gas export products were basically
\nlower valued-added products, such as agricultural commodities.<\/p>\n
Boediono was also confident that domestic consumption would
\nhelp the economy to grow by 4 percent next year, as targeted by
\nthe government.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Pande Raja Silalahi, economist of the Centre for
\nStrategic and International Studies (CSIS) expressed concern that
\nthe APEC gathering would be more focused on the political issue
\nof the fight against global terrorism following the Sept.11
\nterrorist attacks on the U.S.<\/p>\n
Pande called on the government to avoid being absorbed by
\nsensitive political issues, and to focus its attention on the
\neconomic ones.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-urged-to-focus-on-economic-issues-at-apec-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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