Iraq mulls plan to buy RI telecommunications equipment

BANDUNG, West Java (JP): Iraq is considering to buy telecommunications equipment from Indonesia to rehabilitate its telecommunications facilities.

Iraqi Ambassador to Indonesia Sadoon Al Zubaydi said early this week his government was still studying the plan, which would involve transactions worth millions of U.S. dollars.

"We chose Indonesia because of its proximity and the fact that Indonesia has a good telecommunications industry," the ambassador said after meeting several producers of telecommunications equipment in the provincial capital of West Java.

He said the telecommunications sector was the top priority to Iraqi national development as most of its telecommunications facilities were demolished by the war in the early 90s.

Besides Indonesia, Iraq is also considering Malaysia and South Korea to be its telecommunications infrastructure supplier, Zubaydi said.

Rahardjo Pratjihno, the chairman of the Association of Indonesian Electronics and Telecommunications Industry, said Bank Indonesia had signed a memorandum of understanding with its Iraqi counterpart on how payments for the planned equipment purchase would be conducted.

Pratjihno said the Indonesian telecommunications industry would supply, among other things, digital microwaves, broadcasting equipment, public phone terminals and traffic lights.

"Besides the equipment, we are also ready to supply them with a planning system as well as a telecommunications operating system," he said.

He estimated Indonesia could raise as much as US$1 billion from telecommunications equipment exports to Iraq in a period of three to four years.

All bilateral trade between Iraq and other countries, including Indonesia, must have approval from the United Nations, he added.

Indonesia's exports to Iraq totaled US$45.6 million in 1998, or less than one percent of the country's total export figure, according to official data.

Imports from Iraq to Indonesia amounted to $47,000 in 1998, a significant fall from $36 million in the previous year. (udi/25)