Indonesia supports trade liberalization in Asia-Pacific
BANDUNG, West Java (JP): Indonesia is committed to supporting the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation's efforts to speed up trade liberalization in the region under close cooperation with ASEAN countries, Minister of Finance Mar'ie Muhammad says.
"Indonesia has a special commitment to make APEC a success because the cooperation will help develop our economy," Mar'ie said at a seminar Saturday on international and economic development in Asia and the Pacific.
The meeting was organized by the faculty for social and political science at the Catholic University of Parahyangan in Bandung.
Mar'ie said around 70 percent of Indonesia's exports go to APEC countries and over 60 percent of its foreign investment comes from APEC.
Besides Indonesia, APEC includes Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Mexico and the United States.
"It means that Indonesia has to prepare its industries to anticipate fiercer competition in the region," he said.
He said APEC members are expected to gradually reduce both tariff and non-tariff barriers in an effort to create free trade.
Saturday's seminar featured prominent economists including, Sjahrir, the managing director of the Institute for Economic and Financial Research, Bantarto Bandoro, the head of international affairs at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and B. Sugeng Hadiwinoto, a lecturer of the university, in addition to the key-note speaker Mar'ie.
A must
During the seminar, Mar'ie urged all economic players to improve all industrial sectors in order to gain better access to the international market.
"But, I will say that regardless of APEC cooperation, Indonesia should continue liberalizing its trade," he said. "It is a must and you can see that Indonesia can do it."
Mar'ie also said that solidarity and cooperation among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are prerequisites to the success of trade liberalization in the region and at the same time a vehicle of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
He said GATT will not be effective overnight and APEC, therefore, will have a key role in the implementation of the world trade system.
Sjarir meanwhile cautioned that stability is a key role to the success of APEC.
"Economic development depends not only on the availability of efficient economies but also on how they can settle their own political issues," he added.(fhp)