APEC prompts openness

What are the most distinctive aspects of our role in the APEC forum? First, it is the fact that Indonesia's existence as well as its contributions are respected and accepted not only by the developing countries, but also by the newly industrialized countries and the economic superpowers of the world such as the United States and Japan.

There is however another aspect: the role and position which Indonesia is taking in APEC has placed us in the ranks of the countries that are either open or opening up. This is very clearly expressed by the presence of more than 2,000 journalists from every corner of the world and by the simultaneous coverage by the printed and electronic media.

The culmination of this transparency occurs during the days immediately before and after the APEC forum. It would be wrong, however, to assume that after that we will be able to elude the dynamics of openness. Furthermore, APEC is not a job or agenda that lasts for just a moment and is then forgotten. APEC's singular nature lies precisely in the fact that it has already been agreed upon that this forum of economic cooperation should constitute a continuing process, one that with the passing of each day comes closer to the goal of a free and open trade.

In a wider and more comprehensive reading the APEC forum is of course not without political context. The very existence of this economic cooperation forum in fact is a consequence of political progress.

-- Kompas, Jakarta