Indonesia and Chile form business council

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia and Chile opened yesterday a business council as part of their long-term plan to boost bilateral trade.

Chile's ambassador to Indonesia, Hernan Tassara, said he hoped the newly formed Indonesia-Chile Business Council would help the two countries minimize trade barriers.

Tassara said his country, which practiced an open economy, would continue to improve its economic policy to facilitate international trade.

"Chile is also a member of APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) like Indonesia, which wants to encourage economic growth through trade liberalization," he said at the inauguration of the business council.

It will provide the organizational framework to encourage trade, industry and information exchange on business opportunities and problems.

He said the council had big responsibilities, considering the dynamic economies of Indonesia and Chile and the immense potential of the two nations to expand bilateral economic and business ties.

Trade between the two countries has so far favored Chile. Indonesia's exports to Chile reached US$88.1 million last year, while imports from Chile totaled over $300 million or about three times the amount of Chile last year.

Sutara Martadisastra, chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), which has bilateral committees with American countries, said the trade deficit between Indonesia and Chile posed no serious problem.

"It can be tackled if Indonesian businesses are more active in entering Chile," he said, adding there were a lot of opportunities in Chile to increase Indonesian exports.

Indonesia's main exports to Chile include kitchenware, dinner ware, textiles, garments, electronics and rubber, while Indonesia's imports include fish meal and suitcases.

"A lot of our products have great potential in Chile's market, but we have to discuss the barriers which hamper exports first," he said.

Secretary general of the ministry of industry and trade, Aidil Juzar, said ideally Indonesian trade promotion centers should be handled privately to make their organization more active.

"The government always welcomes Kadin's offer to handle the trade promotion centers," he said. (08)