"Generally, Indonesia`s political diplomacy has shown significant progress during the past few years. However, it is time to focus on reaping more economic benefit from our foreign diplomacy," Mahfud Siddiq, a member of the House of Representatives` Commission I dealing with foreign and security affairs, said here on Wednesday.
Mahfud said although the overall value of Indonesia`s trade with other countries in 2011 was reported to have increased, Indonesia was still suffering a deficit in its international trade balance.
Earlier in the day, Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa in a new year speech stated that Indonesian representative offices abroad were expected to expand the country`s export
market in order to achieve the 2012 export value target of US$ 230 billion.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also instructed all of Indonesia`s overseas representative offices to actively help attract foreign investments that will benefit the Indonesian economy in
accordance with the Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia`s Economic Development (MP3EI)," said the minister.
Marty added Indonesian representative offices abroad must also contribute to the attainment of the country`s 8 million foreign tourist arrivals target for 2012.
He also said in 2011 Indonesia had signed 146 international agreements, 131 of which were bilateral agreements. Indonesia also had ratified 26 agreements. Close to 90 percent of the agreements were bilateral, and more than 60 percent were in the economic sector.
"Economic diplomacy is an integral part of Indonesia`s bilateral diplomacy. Efforts to enhance economic, trade and investment relations with other countries are one of the priorities of Indonesian diplomacy, in order to support national development and economic growth and to enhance the welfare of our people," said Marty.
The minister acknowledged that Indonesian embassies abroad during 2011 had tried to deepen and expand Indonesia`s traditional markets while at the same time trying to identify and develop non-traditional markets.
"We have all witnessed and harvested the outcome. Throughout 2011, for instance, Indonesia`s bilateral trade volumes with almost all countries increased compared to the figures in
2010. For example, the trade volumes with 13 countries with which we have strategic partnerships saw sharp increases, above 50 percent on average," he said.
(T.A051/A051/O001)
Editor: Suryanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
