RI pushes for increased exports to boost economy

RI pushes for increased exports to boost economy

SINGAPORE (AP): Despite political turmoil, Indonesia's top economic minister Sunday predicted a bright future for his nation's economy, insisted there was no friction with the International Monetary Fund and said his people need more time to overcome their history of dictatorship.

"This is not an easy job," Rizal Ramli told reporters on the final day of a three-day visit to Singapore. "We are ... in the transition toward democracy. Of course there's some problem of adjustment but I do believe that we are going to be able to consolidate this process."

Rizal was in Singapore from Friday to Sunday for meetings with Prime Minister Goh and other Cabinet ministers.

Rizal pointed to economic growth of over 4 percent in this year's second quarter - and a 27 percent surge in non-oil exports during the first seven months of 2000 - as proof that the economy can thrive despite civil strife.

Rizal's optimism comes despite grave investor fears about massive state and corporate debt in Indonesia - the world's fourth most populous country. And the country is still struggling to emerge from its worst economic crisis in 30 years.

Rizal said the government has placed Indonesia on the right economic track by shifting more resources to the provinces, providing fiscal incentives for offshore debt restructuring, promoting small and medium sized businesses, selling off state assets and securing new IMF funding.

He said earlier on Saturday that the government would boost exports a bid to speed up recovery.

Rizal told Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong that Indonesia's current economic recovery "was largely based on domestic consumption," Goh's office said in a statement

Rizal pledged that Indonesia's new Cabinet will "push for increased exports to boost the recovery," the statement said.

Economic performance in the vast archipelago of Indonesia - the world's fourth most populous country - is of vital concern to neighboring Southeast Asian countries.

In a meeting in Singapore Saturday, Rizal assured Goh that Indonesia's new economic team is "cohesive and disciplined," the statement said.

Indonesia swore in a new, streamlined 26-member cabinet in August. President Abdurrahman Wahid has promised that the new lineup will be more efficient than the unwieldy 35-member team he appointed last October, when he became Indonesia's first democratically chosen leader in four decades.

Rizal also told a media briefing at the end of his visit to Singapore that Indonesia wants to accelerate the use of a multi- million dollar trade assistance package offered by Singapore, its top economic chief said Sunday.

"We (want to) accelerate the process to show both sides are willing to support each other in times of crisis," he added.

Only $60 million of the 400-million-dollar trade package had been used, Rizal said.

The Singaporean government had only invested $76 million in an equity stake in car maker PT Astra out of its $500 million dollar Indonesian investment program, he said.

Anxious to help Indonesia recover, Singapore's government earlier this year announced a multimillion-dollar investment and loan plan to get Singapore countries involved in Indonesia and restore confidence in Indonesia among investors from other countries.

Rizal said that Singapore is in an influential position to help Indonesia counter international criticism over its handling of militias in East Timor.

"We could do with Singapore's support in the international arena," he told the Straits Times newspaper in an interview. "Singapore is well respected for its international assessments. Major countries listen to your views," he said.

Jakarta is under intense pressure from the United Nations (UN) to bring to justice the killers of three UN humanitarian workers murdered in a militia attack in West Timor on September 6, and to disarm the militias.