The head of state made the statement when he opened the 37th Indonesia Petroleum Association (IPA) convention and exhibition at Jakarta Convention Center here on Wednesday.
"I would like to convince you that Indonesia remains an attractive country for both domestic and foreign investors to invest
in oil and gas upstream sectors which are full of risk, solid in capital and technology," President Yudhoyono told hundreds of participants of the IPA convention and exhibition.
The 37th IPA convention and exhibition 2013 from May 15 to 17 was themed "Promoting Investment in Challenging Environment".
"The theme of the IPA convention and exhibition this year is very relevant with the intention of Indonesian Government to push investment in oil and gas sectors," the president said, adding that the oil and gas sectors were the national economic backbones and therefore its contributions should be sustained and increased.
Yudhoyono noted that geopolitically, there has been a shift in the area of energy use.
He said Europe was the biggest energy consumer in the past but now it has shifted to Asian region whose economic growth continued to develop.
The president added that the government also continued to improve investment climate in oil and gas sector through the Presidential Instruction (Inpres) No.2/2012 on the national increase in oil production.
In the Inpres, related institutions are asked to improve an overall coordination, synergy, and synchronization to support oil and gas production.
President Yudhoyono has also formed a team, led by Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa and head of Investment Coordinating Board Chatib Basri to trim business licensing process in order to encourage investment.
Further, he added that the government in the long term has had a blue print to speed up oil and gas industrial development through the implementation of the Masterplan for Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia`s Economic Development (MP3EI).
(F001/ O001)
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
Copyright © ANTARA 2013
