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.