Indonesia Must Not Let Itself Be Developed Countries Market

Surabaya, E Java, April 9 (Antara) - Indonesia and other developing countries must not let themselves be the markets and investment destinations of developed nations, a Research and Technology Ministry official said. "Don`t let that happen. Transfer of technology and knowledge from developed countries to developing nations must be done. This is the most important thing," the deputy for science and technology to the research and technology minister, Amien Subandrio said at the APEC Senior Officials Meeting II "Policy Partnership on Science Technology and Innovation" (PPSTI) here on Tuesday. Amin said the transfer of technology is expected to improve the capacity of developing countries so that they will have the same level as developed countries. He explained that the PPSTI is a very important area for Indonesia and other developing countries. This is because the PPSTI is useful to facilitate transfer of technology from developed countries to developing nations. Indonesia`s technology policies are contained in the seven focus areas covering agriculture and food security, energy, health and medicine, information and communications technology, transportation, defense and technology, he said. "Those are what we are offering in this forum," he said. In addition, there is another focus that gives a larger portion to the sea or maritime role as almost 70 percent of the Indonesian territory is made up of waters, he said. "Given the advantage, Indonesia can benefit from this activity," he said. The transfer of technology is expected to increase Indonesia`s capability and that the target of turning Indonesia into an innovation-based country by 2025 can be achieved, he said. Indonesian Minister for Research and Technology Gusti Muhammad Hatta added that many other countries are eying Indonesia. "So if other countries are to cooperate with Indonesia, I don`t want them to invest in Indonesia and utilize our resources only, but they must transfer their knowledge as well. And if necessary, we can engage in joint production," he said.