Mining key to RI economy

Mining key to RI economy

SYDNEY (Dow Jones): Indonesia's mining and energy sector will be one of the key contributors to the Indonesian government's efforts to spur the reconstruction of the country's economy, Sabam P. Siagian, chairman of the Indonesia-Australia Business Council, said Thursday.

Sabam, director of The Jakarta Post and a former Indonesian ambassador to Australia, was speaking to reporters in Sydney.

"The role of the department of mines and energy is to maintain the budget contribution of the oil and gas sectors, of the coal and mining sectors, in order to speed up the rehabilitation of the Indonesian economy, without discarding the principles of energy conservation and environmental principles," Sabam said, relating a brief he had from the new Mines and Energy Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Bambang was the Indonesian military's (TNI) former Chief of Staff of Territorial Affairs and belongs to the reformist group in the Indonesian army, Sabam said.

Sabam was invited to Sydney by the Sydney Mining Club to speak at the Club's monthly luncheon.