"The US government is seeking to increase trade cooperation with North Sumatra."
Medan, North Sumatra (ANTARA News) - Indonesia has been considered by the US to be the second country after China that has helped the world recover from the economic crisis.

The US deputy assistant secretary for Southeast Asia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Joseph Y Yun, said here on Friday that healthy economic growth in China and Indonesia had much helped the global economic recovery.

"But because Chinese infrastructure and investment is better and bigger than Indonesia`s, China`s role in the recovery has also been bigger," he added.

Joseph stated the US economic crisis, which started during 2008-09, was already over and the country was now in the process of recovery.

"The crisis is still ongoing in Europe, but recovery is under way in the US. Therefore, the US government is seeking to increase trade cooperation with North Sumatra and other regions in Indonesia," he said.

However, Joseph could not tell how long the recovery would take. "I think no one could predict about economic conditions. I used to be an economic observer but I also could not predict them," the former senior observer of Data Resources Inc. Lexington, Massachusetts, added.

Meanwhile, local economic observer Jhon Tafbu Ritonga said it was indeed difficult to predict about the development of the current conditions, because the crisis in Europe was continuing and the US was still in the process of recovery.

"Even the World Bank still has doubts about the prospects of Indonesia, although it grew 6.2 percent in the first quarter," he noted.

Jhon said the World Bank in its latest projections revised Indonesia`s economic growth down to 6.1 percent this year, from 6.2 percent in December 2011.

He added the national trade had recorded a surplus, but the figures were lower than last year`s.

Although the US and Europe are not the main markets of Indonesia or North Sumatra, the crisis in the two regions have affected other countries, including Indonesia`s trade with such countries.

"To be able to sustain the economy, the government must provide full support to small and medium businesses, as they have proven themselves to be the drivers of growth," Jhon said.
(Uu.H-YH/INE/KR-BSR/A014)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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