Indonesia Must Be Able To Compete With Any Country

Ternate, N Maluku, July 4 (Antara) - Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan said Indonesia must be able to compete with any other countries by maximizing its potentials in all sectors. "We have to be able to compete with any countries. One of the ways to increase our competitive edge is to maximize all potentials of the country," said Gita in a meeting with local figures, community chiefs, religious leaders and Academicians here on Thursday. The minister said that to maximize its potentials Indonesia must have good and skilled human resources so that they would be able to produce good quality products. "With good quality products Indonesia will be able to compete with any countries. The key is how to increase production, particularly agricultural products. We should also be able to produce manufactured goods," said Gita. On the occasion, the trade minister stressed the importance of maintaining basic need stability by securing goods distribution, like goods supplies to North Maluku which was composed of many islands. "I am now here to inaugurate a traditional market which constitutes the foundation of the people`s economy," he said. According to Gita, the development of community or traditional market constituted the government`s effort to find the right and effective place for basic goods that could sold at a price within the financial reach of residents. "The market is an efficient meeting point between farmers, producers and consumers where goods and services are sold at prices within the financial reach of the people," Minister Gita said. Besides, the minister said, a good economic growth would be reflected in the even growth of economic benefits across the country, including in rural and isolated areas. "We have a great asset to become a big nation," said Gita. In the meantime, Chief Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said recently that the government would keep the growth momentum to make the economy to remain sound and to protect the people. "It has all been discussed well and all parties have agreed to issue policies to realize them. Bank Indonesia has also issued policies and so has the government," he said after a coordination meeting on economy at Bank Indonesia Building last month. He said there were four important issues discussed at the meeting. Besides keeping the growth momentum the government would also control inflation by assuring supplies of commodities, maintaining the buying power of the public and improving fiscal conditions. Hatta said the government would also issue economic policy packages to maintain investment and market confidence. "The public must be assured that the planned fuel price hike would be accompanied by stimulus packages to make our economy to remain sound and to protect the people," he said. Regarding inflation the minister that it was still maintained while food supplies were also still sufficient and their prices controlled. "If you wish to see prices just look at data from the Central Statistics Agency and not other institutions. That is what has been used as a reference as the data are collected from markets across Indonesia," he said. The government would soon raise the prices of subsidized fuel oils after the draft revised 2013 budget was approved by the parliament to reduce oil subsidy which has grown bigger to increase a budget deficit as the country has to import gasoline to meet domestic demand. Based on the revised budget the government also plans to extend compensations to the poor to reduce the impact of the fuel price hike on them. The compensations include rice aid, program for families of hope, scholarships for poor students and direct cash handouts totaling Rp150,000 a month for a four-month period.