Trade minister, buyers to visit Bali

Trade minister, buyers to visit Bali

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Minister of Industry and Trade Rini M. Soewandi will fly to
Bali on Friday along with the representatives of dozens of
foreign buyers of Indonesian commodities to help restore
confidence in the country.

Rini told the Editors Club on Wednesday that boosting
Indonesia's image was a top priority for the government today, as
people around the globe had pointed out that Indonesia was not
safe and was even seen as a terrorist hotbed following the Bali
bomb attack that killed more than 180 people, mostly foreign
tourists.

"Even worse, there is a kind of negative campaign abroad which
suggests that by purchasing Indonesian products, foreigners would
help Indonesia support the terrorists," said Rini in Jakarta.

Rini, along with the about 30 foreign buyers, who come from
the Middle East, Taiwan and Japan, among other countries, will
visit the blast sites and the island's industrial center.

Through this visit, Rini said, the government wanted to show
that Indonesia is still viable for business.

Earlier, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said Rini had also
planned road shows to Indonesia's main export markets to restore
their confidence in the country.

Japan, the United States and Singapore are the country's
largest export markets. Top export products include textiles,
electronics, footwear, wood products as well as agriculture
commodities.

The timetable for the road shows is being arranged.

Director general for international affairs at the ministry
Sudar SA said Tuesday thus far the Bali incident had not had a
direct impact on the country's exports as most export contracts
for the rest of the year had been signed prior to the Bali
incident.

But, it is feared that many buyers might shift orders to other
countries should Indonesia's efforts to identify the perpetrators
of the bomb attack and to crack down on terrorists fail to
satisfy the global community.

Exports from the country have decreased over the past couple
of months amid the global economic slowdown.

Aside from consumption, export is the key driver of the
country's economic growth amid the lingering economic crisis and
the drop in domestic and foreign investments.

Data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) says that
from January to August, the country's exports fell to US$37.35
billion from $39.34 billion in the same period last year.

On Monday, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun
Kuntjoro-Jakti also held a meeting with several foreign and
domestic investors to restore their confidence in the country
after the Bali bomb blast.

During the meeting, businesspeople warned the government that
it must capture the perpetrators of the Bali bombing and take
tougher action against terrorists to restore confidence in doing
business in Indonesia. If Indonesia failed, the impact on the
country's economy would be enormous, they said.