India asks RI to open IT sector

JAKARTA : India has submitted a formal request to Indonesia to open up its services sector including information technology and health-related services to foreign competition, according to a senior government official.

"We received the initial request from India last week," Budi Santoso, a member of Indonesia's negotiation team at World Trade Organization forum, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

But Indonesia had yet to submit its own proposal to India, he said.

The country have so far received some 19 requests from WTO member countries to open the services sector ranging from telecommunication services to financial services.

Those filing the requests including the United States, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Switzerland, Canada, China, Chile and Hong Kong.

The negotiations for the services sector are expected to be completed by December 2004. -- JP