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)