"Indonesia needs to exploit the potential of existing intellectual property in a bid to boost its participation in the global economy," Fachir said during a meeting with Director General of WIPO.
The meeting was also attended by a number of WIPO delegates, and Hasan Kleib, Permanent Representative of Indonesia to the United Nations, World Trade Organization, and other international organizations in Geneva.
The meeting discussed the importance of intellectual property; the role of government in enhancing the understanding, capacity, and development of intellectual property; and the role of WIPO in supporting the utilization of intellectual property in Indonesia.
On the occasion, Fachir stated that Indonesia is developing a national strategy of intellectual property in an effort to shift from resource-based economy to innovation-based economy.
"This strategy facilitates individuals, small, medium enterprises, and large corporations in creating innovation and promoting economic progress," he stated.
According to him, the national strategy development team is gathering data to formulate policies that would be in line with Indonesias needs.
The effort to formulate policies require appropriate synergies and multi-sectoral cooperation, including in the fields of education, research and technology development, health, industry, commerce, culture, and law.
"Indonesia needs to increase the capacity of innovation to sustain growth and overcome various social challenges," he noted.
Furthermore, he remarked that the policy in the field of intellectual property could be an appropriate means to support the effort, especially if cooperation among stakeholders is done effectively.
As innovation was important for economic, social, and technological development in Indonesia, Fachir stated the intellectual property policy should cover the issue of technology transfer.
He added that the policy would also be more effective if it could facilitate the transfer of technology from abroad, for example, through licenses, foreign investment, imports, and foreign funding.
"It should also support and be in line with the governments policy to strengthen human resources and improve capacity and competitiveness," he stated.
In addition, he remarked that intellectual property policy should also focus on the aspect of commercialization, so that the innovation could have economic value.
Director General of WIPO, Francis Gurry, conveyed that his party continuously cooperated and supported the Indonesian government to enhance creativity and intellectual property in Indonesia.
He also paid a courtesy visit to Indonesian President Joko Widodo in order to discuss various cooperation that could be established by Indonesia and WIPO.
He met a number of Indonesian ministers who had important roles in the development of intellectual property, including the Minister of Law and Human Rights, the Minister of Health, and the Head of the Creative Economy Agency.
Fachir and Gurry agreed to continue to improve cooperation in the future.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
