RI's unrest doesn't affect Singapore economy, says Goh
RI's unrest doesn't affect Singapore economy, says Goh
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP): Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said on Friday that turmoil in Indonesia was having no effect on his country's economy, which was feeling little pressure from the steadily weakening Indonesian rupiah.
"Growth in Singapore comes from our ability to export. The health of the U.S. economy is more important to us than the rupiah," Goh told reporters .
He discussed the situation in south-east Asia with European Commission President Romano Prodi.
The International Monetary Fund is overseeing sweeping reforms designed to pull Indonesia out of an economic crisis. Indonesia's failure to implement key reforms in April led the IMF to delay disbursement of crucial loans until last week.
Additionally, Indonesian struggles with ethnic tensions, notably separatist violence in Aceh, where finding a lasting peace is a major test for Indonesia as it moves toward democracy and economic reform after years of corrupt authoritarian rule.
"Indonesia requires attractive investment (and) we need to show we are supporting Indonesia, to help attract foreign investment," Goh said.
Goh and Prodi also discussed information technologies and the possibility of sending Asian computer scientists and engineers over to EU's 15 member states. "We spent part of our conversation exploring what we can do about the (IT-skills) gap in Europe and what we can do to fill this gap," Prodi said.
Prodi also assured Goh Singapore and other Asian countries will not become less of a priority now that the EU is focusing on an ambitious eastward expansion program that will see the union's membership nearly double in the next decade.
"I was a little concerned that with so many preoccupations and challenges, Europe may have less time for Asia," said Goh after a two-hour meeting and lunch with the head of the European Union's executive branch.
"But I am reassured that Asia remains important to Europe and to the European Commission," he told reporters.
With the 15-nation European Union gearing up to add a potential dozen new member states and turmoil still brewing in the Balkans, many observers had suspected that Asia was slowly slipping down Brussels' agenda.
Prodi described his talks with Goh as "fruitful and friendly," and portrayed Singapore -- the EU's biggest trading partner in Southeast Asia -- as an important bridge between east and west.
Senior officials from the European Union and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are to meet in Portugal later this month, ahead of an EU-ASEAN foreign ministers' conference in autumn.
Ministerial contacts faltered last year over the role of Myanmar (Burma) and its military government in an EU-ASEAN dialogue.
Prodi and Goh said they looked forward to a third EU-Asia summit to be held in Seoul in October.
Goh added that he "impressed upon Mr Prodi that the European Commission should show confidence in Indonesia," where civil strife has aroused concern among EU foreign policy makers.
He suggested that Prodi or one of his commissioners travel to Jakarta "to give a signal to investors that confidence remains" in Indonesia.
Other topics covered by Prodi and Goh included trade, information technology, education and human resources development, said a statement from Prodi's office.