Pakistan, Indonesia complement each other economically<\/p>\n
This week Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto visits
\nIndonesia. The following is an interview with Mustafa Kamal Kazi,
\nthe new Pakistan Ambassador to Indonesia.<\/p>\n
By Gedsiri Suhartono<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Few ambassadors are lucky enough to be visited
\nby their head of state shortly after they are posted in a
\ncountry. Ambassador Mustafa Kamal Kazi is one of them.<\/p>\n
\"My job is made easier. I will not have to do a lot of running
\nto find out what I should do. The visit will provide me a very
\nlong and interesting agenda to follow up. It's a blessing in the
\nopen,\" Kazi said lightheartedly.<\/p>\n
He said a well-paved road lies ahead in line with Prime
\nMinister Benazir Bhutto's visit.<\/p>\n
The 49-year-old envoy, who carries himself casually, took up
\nhis post barely a month ago. He is replacing Ambassador M. Tayyab
\nSiddiqui who is now back at the Pakistani foreign affairs
\nministry.<\/p>\n
Bhutto is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. She will be
\naccompanied by a number of cabinet ministers and about 60
\nbusinesspeople. The last Pakistan prime minister to visit
\nIndonesia was Zia ul-Haq in 1983.<\/p>\n
Kazi said the vacuum was due to different priorities placed in
\neach country's respective development.<\/p>\n
Kazi regarded the upcoming visit of Bhutto as a turning point
\nin Indonesian-Pakistan relations.<\/p>\n
\"Our prime minister attaches high importance to economic
\nrelations with East Asia,\" Kazi said.<\/p>\n
Since 1993, our prime minister has ordered an increase in
\neconomic emphasis to East Asia with the \"Look East Approach\", he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Kazi said he believed regular state visits would intensify the
\nrelationship between the two countries.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Bhutto's visit aims to emphasize the business
\nopportunities now available in Pakistan after the liberalization
\nof its economy has provided incentives for investors.<\/p>\n
Kazi said it was not until the late 1980's that his government
\nrealized the importance of deregulation in boosting economic
\ngrowth.<\/p>\n
\"It was early in the 1990s that we realized our potential to
\nincrease trade in a dramatic manner,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Prior to 1980, Kazi added, Pakistan's developmental plan
\nfocused on only the public sector.<\/p>\n
According to Kazi, Pakistan has been capturing the attention
\nof investors in the past two years due to the government's
\nincentive of allowing a 100 percent foreign ownership.<\/p>\n
The time has come, he said, for both Indonesia and Pakistan to
\ntake part in the global economy by introducing their economic
\npotential.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, for example, has raw materials and Pakistan has
\nbeen producing machines to process raw materials like sugar cane
\nand cement, he said.<\/p>\n
Pakistan's export to Indonesia increased by 379 percent during
\nJanuary to September 1995, or from US$18,313 million in 1994 to
\n$87,712 million.<\/p>\n
Major exporting commodities include rice, cotton yarn and
\nfabric, medical instruments, synthetic rubber latex, and rubber
\ngoods.<\/p>\n
New items recorded were sugar molasses and honey, organic
\nchemicals and iron, steel and aluminum structures.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's exports to Pakistan, however, have decreased by 10
\npercent during the same period. To $84,925 last year from $94,392
\nin 1994.<\/p>\n
\"Pakistan and Indonesia offer good markets to each other,\"
\nKazi said.<\/p>\n
Both countries, he said, have a broad range of consumers and
\nstrategic geographic locations conducive to business cooperation.<\/p>\n
\"We consider Indonesia one of the giants in Southeast Asia,\"
\nhe said, adding that Pakistan could be a useful partner for
\nIndonesia if the latter expands exports to Central Asia.<\/p>\n
Politically, Kazi said Pakistan will be seeking Indonesia's
\nhelp to gain full dialog partner status in the Association of
\nSoutheast Asian Nations.<\/p>\n
Asked how he found life in Jakarta, Ambassador Kazi, who was
\npreviously stationed in Iraq, said: \"I am moving into a different
\nworld. From an environment pervaded with confrontation and
\nconflict to a country where there is compromise and progress.\"<\/p>\n
He said he quickly felt at home, especially because culturally
\nPakistan and Indonesia do not differ radically.<\/p>\n
Prior to Iraq Kazi served at Pakistan missions in Stockholm,
\nAddis Ababa, Paris and Tokyo.<\/p>\n
Kazi said he believed Indonesia and Pakistan trust each other.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia has always been in excellent political standing
\nwith Pakistan,\" he said, \"both countries have been in an
\nendurable emotionally-laden relationship.\"<\/p>\n
Some 600 Pakistani soldiers helped fight for Indonesia's
\nindependence in the 1940s. Nine of the survivors were bestowed
\nmedals of honor by the Indonesian government last year, said the
\nsoft spoken ambassador.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pakistan-indonesia-complement-each-other-economically-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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