RI vows to reduce trade deficit with L. America
By Riyadi
BUENOS AIRES (JP): Indonesia started its one-week economic mission to Latin America here on Thursday with pledges to improve its economic presence and reduce its continuing trade deficit with Argentina and other countries in the region.
"We want to see our bilateral trade to be balanced," Minister of Industry and Trade Tunky Ariwibowo, who led the mission, announced after opening an Argentina-Indonesia business forum here.
Tunky noted that two-way trade between Indonesia and Argentina is still relatively small but growing steadily at a rate of some 20 percent per annum. The two-way trade, for example, increased from US$24.59 million in 1983 to $117.07 million in 1990, $135.45 million in 1993 and $272.8 million last year.
Indonesia, however, has suffered a trade deficit in its trade with Argentina since 1983, varying from $22.28 million in 1983 to $114.9 million in 1990, $78.66 million in 1993 and $177 million last year.
Tunky said that Indonesia has a lot more to offer to Argentina to reduce the trade deficit, including textiles and textile- related products, footwear, household electronic appliances and computer hardware.
"The potency is there and the government has paved the way for the private sector to trade more with this country. Now it's up to the private sector to capitalize on the improving relations between Indonesia and Argentina," Tunky said.
The Tunky-led mission to Buenos Aires is a follow-up to Argentine President Carlos Saul Menem's recent official visit to Jakarta to cement economic relations between the two countries.
The current economic mission, which will proceed to Brazil and Mexico, comprises senior officials, leading manufacturers, exporters, investors and executives of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).
At Thursday's business forum, executives of the Argentine Chamber of Commerce and Kadin signed agreements on fostering economic ties between the two parties.
Earlier in the morning, Tunky and a number of Indonesian businesspeople, including Aburizal Bakrie, Rudy J. Pesik and Poppy Dharsono, met with Menem at the presidential residence.
The secretary-general of the Argentine presidency, Alberto Kohan, told a press conference that the talk was focused on economic issues, including investment, possible joint ventures in telecommunications and bilateral trade.
"We have a big hope for better cooperation in the future, not only in trade and investment but also in other areas for closer friendship between the two countries," Kohan said.
On the same occasion, Tunky noted that Indonesia is interested in importing meat from Argentina, in addition to wheat and corn, as well as capital goods. On the other hand, Indonesia is offering Argentina a number of industrial products, including aircraft.
Countertrade
He said Indonesia and Argentina are now sounding out possibilities of conducting countertrade for Indonesia's aircraft, especially the newest N250 turboprop planes, with Argentina's farm produce.
"Indonesia and Argentina are both developing countries with a high economic growth policy based on market economy. I think Indonesia and Argentina have plenty of room for economic cooperation, and for this reason I'm here to promote better relations in the future," Tunky said.
Meanwhile, Aburizal, who is chairman of Kadin, said that although the two countries are developing ones, they can complement each other.
He said that Indonesia is also offering Argentina advanced technology on a rural telephone system, which can cut investment costs by up to one-sixth of a conventional telephone system.
"At the first stage, we would like to export the technology to Argentina, and after that we would like to form joint ventures here," Aburizal said.
Aburizal said Argentina, as leader in the Southern American economic grouping of Mercosur, promises better access for Indonesian products for markets in Latin America.
Argentina, covering a 2.8 million square kilometer area in the southern part of South America, is the second largest country in the region with a per capita income of over $8,000. "Argentina is the richest country in Latin America," he said.