"We have to be efficient if we want to increase our competitiveness. It will also encourage us to become more efficient than other countries," Kalla said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia must become efficient in several production sectors to ready itself before joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), according to Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

"We have to be efficient if we want to increase our competitiveness. It will also encourage us to become more efficient than other countries," Kalla stated at his vice presidential office on Wednesday.

He remarked that the government had reassessed the opportunity to join the partnership cooperation and had decided to take part in it. The vice president believed that the Indonesian market will broaden if it joined the partnership.

"But, after conducting a reassessment, we found that competition within the ASEAN countries will not be balanced if we did not join it," Kalla noted.

Kalla explained that joining the TPP would not mean that the Indonesian Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) will become open to foreign ships.

"The TPP does not mean that all people can freely fish in Indonesian EEZ. But, we admit to the fact that it will facilitate open trade," affirmed the vice president.

He emphasized that Indonesia should increase its efficiency in all production sectors, so that investment will flow into the country.

By becoming a member of the TPP, Indonesia also has the potential to attract investors as it has wider market destinations.

"This is still a plan. There is also no guarantee that the United States will sign it this year. It will need time. Regarding the Congress and the effective time, it can be arranged," Kalla noted.

Earlier, President Joko Widodo had stated in Washington that Indonesia will join the TPP.

The TPP is a strategic economic partnership agreement among several countries in the Asia-Pacific region, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Mexico, Chile, and Peru and several ASEAN member countries, such as Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, and Vietnam.

In the meantime, Indonesian Ambassador to China Soegeng Rahardjo stated that Indonesia should improve its industrial structure before deciding to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), so that it would not merely serve as a market for other countries products.

"It would be better for Indonesia to thoroughly reconsider its intention to join the TPP. After all, we have joined the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) among the ASEAN and its trade partners, including the United States," the ambassador noted here on Thursday.

Soegeng affirmed that Indonesias interest in joining the TPP would not affect its sound relations with China though it should firstly conduct a thorough study on what the TPP is and its contribution to Indonesia, including ways to protect national interests and to create prosperity for the people.

"Any forms of regional economic integration that Indonesia is willing to join in should provide concrete contribution to achieving national objectives, such as the intention to bring prosperity to its people. If we will only serve as a market, we cannot become advanced," the senior diplomat pointed out.

Soegeng further added that Indonesia should focus on improving its industrial structure and export sector.

"We should not only rely on micro and medium businesses or commodities. Indonesia should view its products to be part of global value chains," he said.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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