Indonesia, Malaysia vow to boost trade amid Ambalat row

Indonesia, Malaysia vow to boost trade amid Ambalat row

Zakki P. Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Despite recent tensions, Malaysia and Indonesia are determined to
strengthen bilateral trade and investment ties, with top
officials from the two countries insisting the Ambalat Block
dispute had no bearing on trade relations.

"This (Ambalat) issue should not distract us from the big
potential (for trade) that we have. Ambalat is one issue. Why
should one small incident matter in the larger context of trade,"
Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry Rafidah
Aziz said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Rafidah said every country had differences with their
neighbors -- with one example being the U.S. and Mexico. "They
have had prolonged problems, but that does not affect their trade
relations," she said after meeting with Indonesian Minister of
Trade Mari E. Pangestu.

Mari said the Ambalat case had nothing to do with trade.

"This is strictly a business-to-business matter," she said.

The Ambalat dispute began last month when Malaysia's state
owned Petronas awarded production sharing contracts to Shell in
the East Ambalat offshore oil field. Indonesia claims the block
is in its exclusive economic zone.

The dispute prompted the two nations to deploy warships to the
area, accusing each other of trespassing before later agreeing to
settle the case through talks.

The governments officially began talks Tuesday in Bali; the
same day Rafidah headed a business delegation of about 100
Malaysian private sector representatives to Jakarta.

Tuesday's mission was the third consecutive business visit in
the past three years.

The Malaysian delegation talked about increasing imports of
manufactured goods from Malaysia to Indonesia in return for more
agricultural and raw material exports from Indonesia.

They met Indonesian businesspeople during the "Malaysia-
Indonesia Business Opportunities" seminar held on Tuesday by the
Malaysian Ministry of International Trade and Industry, the
Indonesia-Malaysia Joint Business Council and the Indonesian
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).

Rafidah, Mari and Kadin chairman Mohammad S. Hidayat spoke at
the seminar.

"I mean business. I know you businesspeople cannot afford to
wait. Time is money for you. You are duty bound to let me know of
the problems you are facing. I am here to be bothered by your
problems," Rafidah said to the amusement of a 300-strong
audience.

The business opportunities were there, she said. Businesses
just needed to know where.

"However, many Indonesian firms seem reluctant to visit
Malaysia to promote themselves, whereas Malaysian companies are
very aggressive," said Rafidah, who has been a minister for 18
years.

Rafidah said after many meetings and negotiations Malaysian
firms had eventually established businesses with Thailand as the
Thais were more aggressive than Indonesians.

"Indonesian representatives should stop visiting Malaysia for
the purposes of comparative studies or good-will tours. Come to
Malaysia to make business deals. Good will alone would not boost
trade," she said.

Indonesian firms could cooperate with Malaysian firms in the
agro-business, information technology, communications, education,
health care and construction sectors, she said.