Nimpuno named WTC chief

Nimpuno named WTC chief

JAKARTA (JP): The first Indonesian has been elected chairman
of the Board of World Trade Centers Association, a statement from
the World Trade Center Jakarta said yesterday.

Harjo Nimpuno was elected to the post for the 1996-1998 period
at a recent annual meeting of the association in Kuala Lumpur.

He will represent the association as an observer at the World
Trade Organization's congress in December, the statement said.

Nimpuno's popularity, according to the statement, reflected
Indonesia's rapid growth and international awareness of the World
Bank's prediction that Indonesia would become the world's fifth
largest economic power in 2020.

Founded in 1969, the New York-based association is the world's
biggest private international trade organization. It has 87
country members with good networks, the statement said.

There are now 320 World Trade Centers (WTC) world wide,
including centers in Jakarta, Surabaya and Medan. An Ujungpandang
center is in the pipeline, the statement said.

WTC provides trade information and communication services,
including internet forums, established in 1985, called WTC
Network and WTC Net. The WTC also runs trade education programs,
trade missions and exhibitions. (06)