UNIDO ready to help develop RI's industry

JAKARTA (JP): The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) said here yesterday it was ready to work with the Indonesian government to develop the country's industrial sector.

UNIDO'S Jakarta director Syed Asis Hasnain said yesterday studies conducted by the organization could be applied to develop the country's industrial activities.

"Indonesia has a very potential industrial sector to supply the world's market ... this potential must be recovered," he told journalists.

But he said the government must be ready to adjust its policies and measures to support its industrial development program with the global trend.

He said the government must not help the country's industrial sector develop with protections, as they would alienate the country from the liberalized international economy.

"The government must be brave in taking its private sector into the global community. I'm confident that Indonesian businesses can succeed," he said.

The current performance weakening in Indonesia and the Asian region would help the industrial sector mature naturally, he said.

Hasnain said, aside from the industrial sector, the country must also be prepared for a more globalized economy by improving its technology.

Emerging countries must pay greater attention to technology, as it would help the country enter the international market, he said after briefing journalists about the agency's plan to hold a seminar on financing industrial investment here next Monday.

Local and international economists, including the managing director of UNIDO's headquarters in Vienna, Austria, N. Mohanty, will speak at the seminar.

Minister of Industry and Trade Tunky Ariwibowo will deliver the keynote speech at the one-day seminar. (das)