Indonesia's Minister for Industry and Trade Rini MS Soewandi said at a press conference held at Expo Center Sharjah that developing countries need to work together more closely.
Soewandi, who flew from Cancun to Sharjah to attend the Indonesia Solo Exhibition (ISE) being held at Expo Center Sharjah, noted that the trade show marked an initiative by Indonesia to diversify its trade away from its traditional markets of the United States, Europe and Japan.
She said, “Some of the developing countries cannot sell their produce in international markets due to developed countries offering subsidies to their producers. One such example is cotton producers such as Mali, who were unable to sell their crop at prices that provided decent returns.”
She explained that developing nations should source raw materials from each other thus cementing the economies of both countries and gaining a foothold for their products in international markets.
“Indonesian exports in the Middle East over the last few years have been increasing at almost 20 percent annually and the Indonesian economy is growing at four to five per cent,” said Soewandi. Indonesia is also looking at Iraq and Libya especially in oil and gas exploration sectors.
Indonesia's exports to the Middle East, North and East Africa accounted for 4.47 percent from January to April 2003 and total exports for the same period is valued at $6.76 million. Major exports to the region include garments, textiles and furniture. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
