"Moving the capital city from Jakarta is now a current issue but before implementing it, we could learn from Brazil`s experience," former Indonesian Ambassador to Brazil Bali Moniaga said here at a Roundtable Discussion on Improving Bilateral Relationships between Indonesia and Brazil Wednesday.
Brazil had moved its capital three times, first from Salvador, and then to Rio De Janeiro and lastly to Brasilia.
According to Bali, the main reason for Brazil to move its capital city was different from Indonesia.
Brazil moved its capital in order to move its economy and political field, he said adding that the reason of such move was actually to develop the economy in remote and underdeveloped areas in Brazil.
"And Brazil managed to do that," Bali said.
Meanwhile, the reason of the capital moving idea in Indonesia is due to population density, Bali said.
"We should work on how to develop underdeveloped areas in Indonesia as the main reason of the capital moving," Bali said.
On the occasion, Bali also mentioned several important sectors from which Indonesia could gain benefit in the bilateral relationship between Indonesia and Brazil.
Those sectors were agriculture and trade, tax policy, environment and forest preservation and free visa agreement.
Meanwhile, on the same occasion, Teiseran Foun Cornelis, Head of Centre for Policy Analysis and Development on American and European Regions of the Indonesian Foreign Affair Ministry said Brazil served as a strategic partner for Indonesia.
Indonesia should coordinate and focus on how to gain and harness benefit from Brazil`s economic potentials, as well as its Research and technology, agriculture, farming, forestry and renewable energy sectors.
"To gain benefit, we should identify and familiarize the use and the opportunity in the agreement to potential business enterprises in Indonesia," Cornelis said.
Brazil is a strategic partner for Indonesia in many sectors, he said, adding that Indonesia and Brazil could partner to solve global issues such as Food, Energy, and Water Security (FEWS), climate change, peacekeeping and also global governance.(*)
KR-AES/F001
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
