Indonesia Encourages More Economic Cooperation among Developing Nations

Thursday, 29 July 2010

ANTARA News

Indonesia is encouraging increased economic cooperation among developing nations through the South-South cooperation, a minister said.

"We expect there will be mutually beneficial cooperation. Those entitled to aid can receive it according to their situations and potentials. As an aid provider, Indonesia can benefit from the economic cooperation," Minister of National Development Planning Armida Alisjahbana who is also chief of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) said after opening a national seminar on the government policy in developing the South-South cooperation here on Thursday.

With the increasingly integrated global economy, there would be a wider chance for Indonesia to diversify its export market and enhance cooperation with other developing nations, she said.

"Indonesia is also encouraging a change in the paradigm of foreign aid from donorship to partnership and solidarity among nations to better develop the ownership of aid recipient or partner countries," she said.

She said Indonesia was playing an increasingly important role at international forums, particularly after it became a middle income country.

"In the years ahead, we hope we can play a stronger and outstanding role. Next year, we will chair ASEAN and organize an ASEAN Summit. We will also host an APEC Summit in 2013," she said.

So far, Indonesia also had been taking an active part in the South-South cooperation by providing expertise and implementing technical aid from developed nations through triangle cooperation, she said.

"Hopefully, the South-South cooperation could run in a more systematic and coordinated way," she said.

Deputy Foreign Minister Triyono Wibowo said the South-South cooperation was an alternative to the North-South cooperation aimed at promoting each other`s potentials.

"Globalization has prompted each country to cooperate with any other nations to withstand the increasingly fiercer competition," he said.

Indonesia must direct its cooperation with countries of the South to be business-oriented to boost its economic development, he said.

"Looking ahead, we must abandon the notion that the South-South cooperation is merely technical cooperation," he said.