Solidarity through trade

Solidarity through trade

With little fanfare, the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and
Industry and private sector groups concluded their week-long
meetings in Jakarta yesterday calling for greater trade among the
52 members of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC).

The call, stipulated in the Bandung Declaration, so called
because the declaration was hammered out in the West Java city,
brings home the sad truth that Islamic countries do not trade
with one another as much as they could, and should.

The chamber, a private sector organization under the OIC,
believes that through trade and investment facilitation, and even
some measures of trade liberalization between the OIC countries,
trade among Islamic countries in the world could truly blossom.

There is also an increasing realization among OIC governments
-- apparent from addresses by Indonesian officials during the
chamber's conference -- of the need to find trade allies in the
face of increasing global economic competition. OIC could be one
such forum to forge alliances. Liberalization, once considered a
dirty word and a monopoly of the western world, is now an
international catchphrase and a key to economic survival.

Some might dismiss the Bandung Declaration as ambitious. On
the face of it, the 52 OIC economies appear to have little in
common and most find it more beneficial to trade with the West
and non-OIC countries. To date, economic interests have taken a
backseat in the OIC's 25 years of existence. Although the OIC's
raison d'etre was the promotion of Islamic solidarity, the
organization has been more concerned with politics.

But anyone who suggests that trade and Islam don't mix is
wrong. Prophet Muhammad grew up a successful trader before he
took up the call of God when he turned 40 years old. Islam was
brought to this part of the world by traders, who mixed commerce
with religious propagation. Propagation through trade was very
much the name of the game then. Today, we should revive that
spirit of entrepreneurship among Islamic people, though the game
should perhaps be more appropriately called solidarity and
brotherhood through trade and economic cooperation.

This is because not only is there immense profit to gain from
trading among Islamic countries, there is also the religious call
to help less fortunate brethren, especially poor OIC countries in
Africa. Among the 52 OIC countries are some of the richest and
poorest nations in the world. This calls for solidarity. Among
the OIC members are countries that have succeeded in their
industrialization programs, like Malaysia and Indonesia. This
shows growing potential for trade because they offer a greater
range of tradable goods, than simply raw materials which
restricted trade in the past.

While aid from wealthy petrodollar countries may be an
attractive proposition to assist poor OIC members, it can never
replace trade. Besides being longer lasting, trade relations are
founded on the principles of mutual benefit and equal
partnership. There are no donors and recipients in such
relations. Few in the OIC are in the position to extend financial
aid to fellow members; but given the chance, all OIC members can
trade with one another, and benefit immensely from such
relations.

There are of course many obstacles to overcome, but these are
not grounds to dismiss the Bandung Declaration as ambitious.
There is the problem of financing for intra-OIC trade, which so
far has been provided only by the Islamic Development Bank. There
is also the problem of transportation, as exemplified by the fact
that many Indonesian products finding their way to Islamic
countries are actually exported by Singapore.

These and all the other problems obstructing intra-OIC trade
need to be addressed, not only by the Islamic chamber, but also
by the OIC governments. The OIC ministerial meeting which Jakarta
will host in December is a good opportunity for OIC governments
to show goodwill by backing the chamber's call for more trade.
The Bandung Declaration may be a small step, but it is a step in
the right direction.