Boediono said the spending was still very small compared to that of the US that reached 4.7 percent of its GDP or even that of Saudi Arabia that reached 10 percent of its GDP.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia`s military spending is still very small recorded at only 0.7 percent of its gross domestic product or far below that of other countries in the world, Vice President Boediono said.

"Indonesia is not yet caught in `the radar` although its military spending has been increasing fast in the past few years to meet its minimum defense capability," he said here on Wednesday.

The vice president made the statement when opening the 5th "Indo Defense, Indo Aerospace and Indo Marine 2012 Expo and Forum" at Jakarta International Expo in Kemayoran.

Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro and a number of defense attaches from various countries attended the opening of the event.

Boediono said the spending was still very small compared to that of the US that reached 4.7 percent of its GDP or even that of Saudi Arabia that reached 10 percent of its GDP.

The vice president meanwhile said that defense industry is a high-profile industry in view of money circulating around it quoting the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute research figure of around US$1,738 billion.

"This is 2.5 times our GDP or even 10 times our national budget. This is huge for products actually numbering not so many," he said.

Quoting statistics the vice president said Indonesia`s imports of defense equipment were ranked 15th among other countries in the world.

"This means we still have a lot of opportunity to put our domestic products there to maximize our defense industry," he said.

Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro meanwhile said this year`s Indo Defense would be an event for promoting domestic products and building trade relations with global defense industries.

In line with the theme of the event which is "Empowering Indonesia`s Industry for Defense Modernization" this year will be the year for the rise of national defense industry.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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