REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, DA NANG -- Indonesia spoke about maritime economy in the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) 2017 meeting here, Friday.
"President Joko (Jokowi) Widodo said that two thirds of the APEC region comprised water like Indonesia, but so far, when we talk about trade and investment, the focus is generally on land. The maritime economy, or blue economy, is very important," Anindya Bakrie, head of ABAC for Indonesia, stated.
His first agenda was to attend the ABAC meeting, along with leaders of the APEC member countries.
"It is not only important to build connectivity to reduce shipment cost and others, but also to develop aqua culture," Anindya noted.
Anindya, who is also deputy chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) for organization, membership, empowerment of regions and corporate management, revealed that President Jokowi had raised the gap issue.
"The president has raised a good issue. So far, people have always talked about trade and investment, which indeed have increased from 25 years ago, but there are gaps in other places, not only in developing but also in advanced countries," he observed.
President Jokowi underlined that the APEC must highlight these gaps, what it would do after 2020, and how to overcome it, he mentioned.
"An equilibrium is needed to harmonize growth and equity. In Indonesia, it is known as a just growth. This is what we must push forward," he stressed.
Twenty-one leaders from the APEC member countries, including US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Mexico President Enrique Pena Nieto attended the APEC Summit.
The theme of the APEC 2017 Summit is 'Creating New Dynamism, Fostering a Shared Future', and the meeting will focus on discussing several issues, including sustainable development, regional integration, strengthening small and medium businesses' competitive power, climate change and agricultural fund.
The APEC, which was established in 1989 and entered the finalization phase of 'Bogor Goals' on trade liberalization and investment in 2020, is facing hurdles in the process of economic integration and globalization.
Twenty-one economies that are members of the APEC include Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taipei, Thailand, the US and Vietnam.
The APEC member countries represent 39 percent of the world's population and contribute to 57 percent of the world's gross domestic product and 49 percent of global trade.
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