Spanish state seeks closer trade with RI

JAKARTA (JP): A delegation from the Spanish state of Basque is jumping on the bandwagon with other European states in seeking closer business ties with Indonesia.

Vice President Jon Imanol Azua Mendia, who made a three-day visit to Indonesia starting Wednesday, said he wanted to promote his country to various officials and business people and explore wide areas of cooperation.

He also used his visit here to conclude business arrangements with the Salim Group, a powerful conglomerate.

"I think everybody in Europe is interested in Asia and Indonesia, not only because of its rapidly growing economy over the last few years, but also because of the new opportunities and special areas of industry that they have to offer," Azua told reporters. He added that the region's vast local markets and the chance to widen them also provided enticements of their own.

He did not see the long-time separatist group, ETA (Basque Homeland and Freedom), as obstructing Basque's relations with other countries. "They have already lost the war, but they don't know how to finish it," he said.

The separatist movement, which he said uses terrorism as a means of achieving their goals, was moving in a direction which was different from Basque's normal society, political parties and institutions which were all against violence. "Everybody tries to remind them of this everyday... Now we are trying to help to finish that war and this horrible phase in history," he said. He added that a resolution to the conflict would only be a matter of time.

Unknown land

Azua admitted that Basque is, even to the Spaniards, a somewhat unknown country.

Inhabited by about two million people, the state is located on the north of Spain, bordered by the Bay of Biscay and by the Pyrenees Mountains on the south.

Over the centuries, however, it has proven to contribute much to Spain's economy.

"If you talk about industry in Spain, it is necessary to talk about the Basque country," Azua pointed out.

The country was a main source of heavy industry and a pioneer in developing cooperatives. Basque produces 95 percent of Spanish machinery tools, 70 percent of its steel, 20 percent of its electronic devices and 30 percent of Spain's automobile components, he said.

It is in these fields that Basque intends to join relations with Indonesia, he added.

Azua, who will proceed on to China and Singapore from Jakarta, acknowledged that cooperation in other fields, such as culture and education, may be developed during a second visit to the country next year. (pwn)