REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia is seeking to contribute to the world by maintaining memberships of the World Trade Organization and consistently supports trade liberalization.
The commitment is given despite opposition in the country against the country's involvement in the WTO.
Critics said the country would lose more than gaining from being involved in the global trade organization.
They accused the Indonesian government of failing to see the weaknesses of the country in global open competition.
The government, however, showed no sign that it would bow to the demand to walk away from the multilateral organization.
In fact Indonesia has played a good host to last week's 9th WTO ministerial conference in Nusa Dua, Bali.
The conference from Dec. 3-6 ended with Bali Package agreement with three main points -- Trade facilitation, agriculture and promotion of the capacity of least developed countries.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who opened the conference, said through the Bali meeting Indonesia wants to contribute world's efforts to create a fair trade for the prosperity of all nations.
Yudhoyono said global trade should be fair between advanced and developing countries.
The Bali conference would be a success if it could expand global trade and contribute to reducing poverty in the world, he said.
Meanwhile Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ), a non governmental organization, said free trade promoted by WTO has hurt Indonesia. Liberalization has led to cut in subsidies for farmers and fishermen, and foreign exploitations of the country's natural and human resources.
IGJ executive director M Riza Damanik said the Bali Package discussed at the conference would worsen the crisis.
WTO has failed to provide answer for a number of crucial issues like hunger, unemployment, poverty and global heat.
The country's largest non political Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) asked the government to consider quitting WTO.
PBNU chairman KH Abbas Mu'in said Indonesia has lost more than gaining from being member of WTO Mu'in said Indonesia would gain more by expanding bilateral trade rather than binding itself with WTO rules.
Indonesia, the fourth most populous country in the world and the majority of its population of 250 million still live from the agricultural sector.
Trade liberalization would lead to the domestic market being flooded with imported food products causing marketing problem for the country's farm commodities.
Indonesian farm products could not yet compete in open market, Mu'in said, adding Indonesia should lead in the struggle to promote the interest of developing nations.
However, Deputy Trade Minister Bayu Krisnamurthi said failure to agree on the Bali Package, would cause great losses to all member countries including Indonesia.
The greatest loss to Indonesia is loss of confidence in multilateral trade with impact on many aspects including dispute settlement, Bayu said.
In addition, uncertainty would be greater over the continuation of the Doha negotiations which greatly concerns the interest of developing economies including Indonesia.
"Failure would mean much less chance of expanding our global trade. Diversification of market would more difficult," Bayu said.
WTO was formed on 15 April 1994, and began to be effective in operation in January 1995, when world's trade ministers signed the final act of the Uruguay Round in Marrakesh, Morocco. (Ahmad Buchori)
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