REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Vice President Boediono has said that the defence industry should be integrated with local supporting industries to maintain its production process. "The defence industries in many countries make a lot of progress because they are supported by other industries, research and development," the vice president said here on Wednesday.
Boediono made the remark while opening the 5th Forum of Indo Defence, Indo Aerospace and Indo Marine 2012 Expo that would last from November 7-10, 2012 at Kemayoran Jakarta International Expo. Present at the function were Defence Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro and a number of defence attaches from some countries.
According to the vice president, Indonesia has an opportunity to improve its defence industry, both, from the economic and security angles. He believes that the defence industry should be integrated with the capability of the domestic industry by involving colleges and universities in the country.
"There must be an integrated plan for the development of the defence industry in Indonesia to gain strongest possible support or else it will come to a halt," the vice president noted.
Besides achieving integration with domestic industries, Boediono said the defence industry should also have partnerships with foreign industries in Indonesia. Further, he expressed hope that the Indo Aerospace and Indo Marine 2012 Expo would inspire the defence industry to improve its development.
"In addition, the expo is also expected to provide the community with education and information on the progress of national defence," Boediono said.
More than 550 companies from 42 countries such as Singapore, Russia, Britain, Czech, Germany, Turkey, France, South Korea, Australia, China, Brazil, India, Portugal, Canada, Japan, Spain, Ukraine and Indonesia are taking part in the expo