Indonesia backs Indian Ocean forum
Indonesia backs Indian Ocean forum
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia will take an active role in the Indian Ocean Rim Initiative forum, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas said yesterday.
"President Soeharto has conveyed Indonesia's commitment to make it a success and hopes that the country can contribute its constructive ideas to the forum," Alatas said at Merdeka Palace.
Alatas was accompanying Louis Steven Abeegadoo, a special envoy of Mauritius Prime Minister Ram Gulam scheduled to meet President Soeharto. Abeegadoo was here to seek Indonesia's support for the forum.
Abeegadoo said the initiative is to sound out economic cooperation among countries in the Indian Ocean rim.
"The new reality of an international economy calls for a new form of regionalism, in which countries with different backgrounds can unify themselves to complement each other," Abeegadoo said.
He explained that the forum, initiated by seven countries -- Australia, Guinea, India, Mauritius, Oman, Singapore and South Africa -- plans to hold a ministerial meeting of 14 countries in the region.
The other seven countries expected to join the new grouping are Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mozambique, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Yemen.
"In the near future, working group meetings will start in Mauritius to prepare for the ministerial meeting, which is expected to be held by the end of this year," Abeegadoo said.
Alatas recounted that the forum will likely lead to a regional economic grouping like the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which is determined to liberalize trade and investment in the region by the year 2020.
"This forum is a combination of APEC and the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council because it intends to include governments, the private sector and academicians," Alatas said.
He acknowledged that countries in the Indian Ocean rim vary widely in terms of their political and economic systems as well as their economic growth levels. Therefore, he said, the Indian Ocean forum is right for starting with seven countries and expanding to 14 countries later.
"It needs to be examined if we need to expand the forum or not," Alatas said.
He explained that Soeharto and Abeegadoo -- Mauritius' minister of marine and fishery -- discussed bilateral issues, particularly the fishery and marine resources sectors.
Yesterday, Abeegadoo also met with Indonesian Minister of Agriculture Sjarifudin Baharsjah to discuss possible bilateral cooperation in fishery and marine resources. (rid)