Japan to remain important for Indonesia: Ginandjar

JAKARTA (JP): As the biggest investor in Indonesia, Japan is expected to continue to play a pivotal role in Indonesia's development over the next 50 years.

Minister of National Development Planning/Chairman of the National Development Planning Board Ginandjar Kartasasmita said yesterday that he expects Japan to maintain its important role in helping Indonesia's development process.

"In the process of the structural transformation that is happening at a fast pace in this country, I foresee a strong and very visible role for Japan," Ginandjar said.

"There is no doubt that Japan has already played a pivotal role in what is widely acknowledged as the Indonesian economic success story," the minister said.

According to Ginandjar, the amicable relations between the two countries have been strengthened by the fact that there have been few, if any, political crises hampering or threatening to strain bilateral ties.

Speaking at a symposium on Japanese-Indonesian cultural and economic cooperation, Ginandjar said that "Japan will continue to be a very important source of the capital and technology needed to support continued growth."

Japan has projects in Indonesia worth over US$23 billion, representing nearly 19 percent of cumulative approved foreign investments here.

Trade with Japan has also continued to climb, with non-oil and gas products increasing at a rate of more than 20 percent per annum between 1986 and 1993.

Japan has also become the largest aid donor to Indonesia, through both the now-defunct Inter-Governmental Group on Indonesia and the current Consultative Group on Indonesia.

Ginandjar said the ties between Indonesia and Japan could become a model for mutually-beneficial relations between developing and developed nations.

"History may well judge the ties between Indonesia and Japan to be a model of sincere, productive and mutually-respectful relations between any two nations," he added.

Yesterday's symposium was the final session of the 13th steering committee meeting of the Japan-Indonesia Science and Technology Forum, which began on Friday. The meeting has discussed ways of further solidifying ties between the two countries and has included talks on cooperation in various development projects.

Various projects have been undertaken within the framework of the forum. Future projects to be sponsored by the forum include the construction of a bridge between East Java and the island of Madura.

During earlier sessions of the meeting, Indonesian ministers called for Japanese participation in the development of the Natuna gas field in Riau province.

State Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie said that Japanese participation in the project would be another exercise in increasing the compatibility of the two economies.

In his presentation yesterday, Ginandjar agreed that, as Indonesia becomes more industrialized, there is likely to be an increasing compatibility between its economy and that of Japan.

He described this compatibility as the pairing of Japanese expertise in marketing and product development with Indonesia's manufacturing advantages.

"I believe we will begin to see cross-trade in automobile components and consumer goods," he said.

Ginandjar added that stronger cooperation will have strategic advantages in enhancing political stability. (mds)