IOC members call for direct trade info on RI
IOC members call for direct trade info on RI
JAKARTA (JP): Islamic countries should be able to invest
directly in Indonesia and should not have to go through western
intermediaries, an official of the Organization of Islamic
Conference said yesterday.
Chairman of the organization's Economic Consultative Forum H.
Sudrajat said that OIC investments in Indonesia are currently
channeled through western consultants because of a shortage of
skilled staff in OIC countries.
Sudrajat, also chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce
and Industry's Middle East committee, called for more foreign
direct investment from OIC's member countries.
He said several projects have been financed by OIC member
countries, including the road project between Surabaya and Malang
in East Java, several coconut plantations and potential shipping
sectors.
He said Indonesia's investment in the Middle East was small
compared to other countries, but Indonesia's exports have reached
US$1.6 billion.
"President Soeharto has urged that our country increase
business activities with OIC," he said.
Export credit can be obtained from the Islamic Development
Bank, which has allocated $100 million this year, he said.
Indonesia's non-oil and gas exports to the Middle East include
wood products, textiles and clothing, footwear, construction
materials while imports include phosphorus from Algeria and
Jordan, Sudrajat said.
He said Indonesia's share of commercial activities in OIC's
population of 100 million people is a minimum capita of $10 per
person annually.
Established 26 years ago, OIC maintains a membership base of
54 countries from Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The Economic
Consultative Forum was formed in 1990 to seek and develop
business and economic opportunities among its members.
The forum held its monthly meeting here yesterday to
inaugurate the new co-chairmen including the Ambassador of the
Republic of Yemen Abdul Wahid Mohamed Fara and Charge d'Affaires
of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Mohammad Saeed Al-Kindi.
They replace the forum's previous co-chairmen Turkish
ambassador Sevinc Dalyanoglu and Tunisian ambassador Mohamed Said
El Kateb. (01)