REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, DAVOS -- Indonesian Trade Minister Thomas Lembong has stated that the country needs to pay more attention to services sector as it will become a leading sector in international trade.

At the global level, Indonesia currently focuses on trade in goods including oil, gas and non-oil/non-gas commodities, he said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2016 in Davos, Switzerland, on Friday night.

"Our balance of trade never makes a distinction between goods and services but is based on trade in oil, gas and non-oil/non-gas commodities," he said.

Indonesia is lagging far behind other countries including neighboring Singapore in terms of trade in services, he said.

As a matter of fact, Indonesia has more value reservoirs on which it can rely to develop the service industry, including the public's creativity, hospitality and sympathy.

To develop the services sector into a leading sector in the international trade, the nation needs to improve its people's sense of discipline, he said.

"We must pay more attention to the development of the service industry as a leading sector to spur the economy. It is time to develop the service sector," he said.

He further said the WEF is a means to expand international economic network with other countries.

The forum highlights the fourth industrial revolution, he said.

In this regard, Indonesia must be ready to enter the era of more sophisticated technology in international trade, he said.

"We must speed up the development of all sectors in view of a rapidly growing world," he said.

Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika