"In principle, Indonesia is ready for the implementation of the plan," he said on the sidelines of the 44th ASEAN economic ministerial meeting here on Monday.
Gita added that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations was committed to stepping up its efforts to ensure the implementation of AEC by 2015.
"Indonesia will make the maximum possible effort to ensure the implementation of the AEC blueprint on time," he stated.
"Starting 2008 through August 2012, the implementation of the AEC blueprint has reached around 70 percent, so only around 30 percent has yet to be implemented," Gita noted.
Therefore, he added, ASEAN leaders had agreed to "strengthen national coordination in their respective countries" to ensure that they fulfilled the commitments made in the AEC blueprint.
Gita pointed out that a lot of work had yet to be done for Indonesia to be fully prepared for AEC.
"The government has to continue improving its human resources and bureaucracy, which continue to hamper investment," he explained.
Gita said the Investment Coordinating Board chief, Chatib Basri, who also attended the meeting, would meet with his counterparts from other member countries to discuss ways to overcome the obstacles to investment.
(H-YH/INE/H-YH)
Editor: Suryanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
