Indonesia offers Thailand a rice-for-planes deal
Indonesia offers Thailand a rice-for-planes deal
By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia and Thailand are examining the possibility of a counter-trade deal which would involve the sale of Indonesian-made aircraft and rice imported from Thailand.
The possibility was discussed by visiting Thai Foreign Minister Thaksin Shinawatra during separate meetings here yesterday morning with President Soeharto and Indonesia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas.
"Indonesia has bought some Thai rice and Indonesia would like to ask the Thais to buy some aircraft," Thaksin said of yesterday's talks.
However Thaksin remained tight-lipped on Bangkok's position, saying only that his government would carefully "consider" the offer.
Thailand is a major exporter of rice to Indonesia with some 200,000 tons exported here last year at a price of about US$200 per ton.
Despite repeated pronouncements by the government of a secure rice supply here, the National Logistics Board (Bulog) had to import a total of 900,000 tons of husked rice last year. An additional 390,000 tons are expected here this month.
Floods and an extended dry season wiped out 150,000 hectares of rice fields, slashing production by 3.6 percent and forcing Indonesia to become a rice importer for the first time since it achieved rice self-sufficiency in 1984.
Following a courtesy call on President Soeharto's residence on Jl. Cendana, Thaksin told journalists that it still depends on a public review in Thailand before his country can buy Indonesian aircraft.
According to Alatas, President Soeharto specifically mentioned the CN-235 as the plane to be offered.
Jakarta has made similar offers to other countries, such as Malaysia and Iran, in an attempt to sell the 44-seater CN-235 made by the billion dollar IPTN state-owned aircraft company in Bandung, West Java.
Despite the lack of any immediate commitment, Thaksin seemed to lend support to the idea saying Thailand "would like to buy aircraft from Indonesia because we want to support ASEAN leadership, especially in technology."
The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is comprised of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand.
Thaksin further signaled that in return for the purchase of aircraft, Bangkok might ask Jakarta to purchase more rice and "to buy some automobile parts."
After a two day stay, the Thai foreign minister, a prominent tycoon in the telecommunications field, left yesterday for Bangkok and amid growing questions on his job due to a newly released law which scrutinizes the involvement of high ranking public officials in business.
Asia-EU
Later, after a meeting with his Thai counterpart at the foreign ministry building on Jl. Pejambon yesterday, Alatas gave cautious support for a newly proposed summit between Asian and European Union leaders.
Originally proposed by Singapore's Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong in October, the idea was also given a boost by Thaksin in Singapore on Thursday when he offered to host such a summit, whose aim would be to break down trade barriers.
"Of course the details of such an idea need to be further discussed and thought through. So many things are not clear yet and this is still only a general idea," Alatas explained.
"As a general idea I think it is an idea that is worth pursuing," he added, though still unclear about the details. (mds)