Soeharto wants APEC to remain loose body

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto said yesterday that, while Indonesia supports trade liberalization in the Asia-Pacific region, it does not want the formation of a formal bloc.

Soeharto made the statement during a meeting with visiting Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry Rafidah Aziz at the Merdeka Palace here.

"We want to know President Soeharto's opinion about this matter. And it is clear that he supports trade liberalization in the region but does not propose to make it into a formal free trade area, as wanted by a number of parties," Rafidah said after meeting with Soeharto.

Rafidah referred to some developed members of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, including Australia and the United States, which want to institutionalize the forum. The proposal that APEC be institutionalized has been rejected outright by developing members, especially Malaysia, she added.

"I'm happy to see Bapak President's clear view this time. And we support it," Rafidah said, adding that developed economies should start to liberalize trade and investment in their countries earlier than the developing members do.

At their second summit in Bogor, West Java, last November, APEC leaders agreed to liberalize trade and investment in the region. The deadline for full liberalization is 2010 for the developed economies and 2020 for the developing economies.

"What we want to see is that efforts in the Asia-Pacific region to liberalize trade by reducing tariffs. And those figures (of years) only serve as targets, which would comply with the capabilities of each member," Rafidah said.

The third APEC summit, scheduled to take place in Osaka on Nov. 19, is expected to provide a blueprint for the implementation of the Bogor declaration on trade and investment liberalization in the region.

Asked if Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad will attend the Osaka summit, Rafidah said the prime minister had not yet decided. "But I believe that he will attend it. Insya Allah (If God is willing)," she added.

Rafidah returned to Kuala Lumpur after her meeting with Soeharto yesterday. The minister had been here on a three-day visit to promote bilateral trade and investment. The Indonesian visit was the third leg of a Southeast Asian tour by Radifah and followed a visit to Thailand and the Philippines. (rid)