"If we don`t make serious efforts to make the APEC economies recognize that palm oil is a green product, our business will continue to be hampered in global market," Apindo`s Chairman Sofjan Wanandi.Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian Employers` Association (Apindo) has asked the government to promote palm oil as a green product in Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, said Apindo`s Chairman Sofjan Wanandi.
Wanandi said at a seminar on "Economic and Politic Ahead of 2014 Elections" here on Thursday night (April 18) that the Indonesian government should do its best to promote palm oil as a green product, otherwise the palm oil business will stuck in negative stigma in the global market.
"If we don`t make serious efforts to make the APEC economies recognize that palm oil is a green product, our business will continue to be hampered in global market," he said.
Wanandi emphasized the importance for Indonesia as the APEC 2013 chair to promote its national interests when hosting APEC meetings.
Besides promoting the palm oil and raw rubber as the green products, Wanandi said Indonesia should make effort to propose APEC`s infrastructure funds to support the domestic`s infrastructures budget.
"We know that APEC has potential infrastructure funds to help APEC`s economies who still develop their infrastructures," he said.
Hence, during its chairmanship, Indonesia should be able to take benefits from the idle of APEC`s infrastructure funds, added Wanandi.
"We have to make some efforts and win at least on those two points, to promote palm oil and rubber as green products and to propose APEC`s infrastructure funds," he said.
Regarding the readiness of the Indonesian employers to face ASEAN and APEC economic connectivity, Wanandi said they were not ready yet.
"To tell you the truth, we are not ready yet. We need a lot of efforts to make it, from the regulation to the law enforcement and infrastructures," he said.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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