RI, Malaysia, Thailand agree to boost cooperation
By Prapti Widinugraheni
LHOKSEUMAWE, Aceh (JP): Indonesian, Malaysian and Thai ministers ended their one-day meeting here yesterday, with a fresh commitment to strengthening business partnerships in their bordering areas.
Indonesian Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave said that all parties agreed to set up a task force in a bid to stimulate the business partnership within the Indonesia- Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT).
Joop, who chaired yesterday's meeting, said the task force would identify initiatives and ideas to spur private sector participation in IMT-GT cooperation.
Joop was speaking on behalf of Coordinating Minister for Production and Distribution Hartarto, who was unable to attend the meeting. Hartarto is in charge of supervising the IMT-GT from the Indonesian side.
The establishment of the task force was in response to private sectors' concern that many projects under the IMT-GT had not been fully implemented.
The concern was brought up during a Joint Business Council and senior officials' meetings, which were held before yesterday's ministerial meeting.
IMT-GT, connecting North and West Sumatra in Indonesia, southern provinces in Thailand and western states in Malaysia into an integrated economic center, is one of three subregional cooperation schemes initiated by members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The other two are: the Indonesia-Malaysia-Singapore Growth Triangle, linking Riau province -- including Batam, Singapore and Johor state in Malaysia; and the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle connecting Central and South Kalimantan; Central, South and Southeast Sulawesi; Sarawak of Malaysia; and the southern provinces of the Philippines and Brunei.
Kosim Gandataruma, the head of the Indonesian Senior Officials Meeting delegation said yesterday that after four years of the IMT-GT's establishment, the Joint Business Council, which consists of businesspeople from three countries, had managed to sign 47 memorandums of understanding valued at a total of M$11.15 billion (around US$4.51 billion).
"Of these, 14 are at the implementation stage, nine on hold, 19 progressing and five aborted," he said.
Kosim said that of the projects, six were in tourism, with a total value of M$206.25 million, eight in infrastructure (M$9.96 billion), seven in agriculture and fisheries (M$220 million), four in human resources development (M$1 million) and one in services ($15.6 million).
The Senior Officials Meeting, which ended Wednesday night, was attended by some 200 government officials and businesspeople from Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. About one third of the delegates were from the private sector.
Kosim said the involvement of the private sector was expected to reduce bureaucracy and encourage transparency in the decision- making process.
He said the need to establish a task force to supervise the working groups was mainly because some working groups had made significant progress while others "seemed unsure" of what they were supposed to do.
"In some cases, the private sector is an active and vibrant part of the working group meetings and deliberations. In other cases, neither the public nor private members of the working group are comfortable with existing conditions," he said.
"After a frank exchange of views ... we have decided to establish a task force to examine a mechanism whereby the effectiveness of the working group can be made more efficient and, in particular, to come up with proposals for ways to integrate the private sector more deeply into the IMT-GT constructive mechanism." he said.
Kosim said during the next Senior Officials Meeting and Ministerial Meeting, which is scheduled to be held in Perak, Malaysia, in September or October this year, the task force would report the result of its assessment and provide recommendations.
The IMT-GT, established in Langkawi, Malaysia in July 1993, covers the provinces of Aceh, North and West Sumatra, the Malaysian state of Kedah, Penang, Perak and Perlis and the Thai provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Satun, Songkhla and Yala.
The ministerial meeting also endorsed yesterday the proposal to include the province of Riau in the subregional group, bringing the number of Indonesian provinces in the growth triangle to four.
The ministers also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Sumbar Utara Misiniaga Sdn. Bhd, of Malaysia and Medan-based PT Bangun Mabarjaya for the establishment of a 180-hectare industrial zone in North Sumatra's Deli Serdang regency.
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