Chamber of Commerce Maps-out International Business Partnerships

"Kadin will also hold joint consultations to deliver the competitive map of exported products to destination countries with the agreed trade agreements," Kadin deputy chairman for international relations Shinta Kamdani said during the chamber's coordination meeting in Jakarta Wednesday, June 1, 2016.

Shinta said the government needs to improve competitiveness given the increasingly free world trading activities. Businesses, she said, must quickly and appropriately adapt to the situation.

"We are inviting local businesses to look at international trade negotiations as a chance and as a way to recognize comparative advancement."

To that end, she added, the government needs to enhance coordination with the business world in terms of trading diplomacy. Policies should be created by taking into account domestic and international aspects.

"The government and the business world need to synergize to achieve the optimum international business partnership,"

Furthermore, she said that synergy is also required to put Indonesia in the right position in global trading diplomacy. She said that Kadin fully supports the government's negotiations in international forums like CEPA, TPP, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

"Kadin had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Islamic Development Bank to finance the private sector," she said.

Indonesia, she said, is becoming a more attractive investment destination to the global community. However, the World Banks said that Indonesia's ease of doing business/EODB level is behind Singapore and Thailand.

"To address that, Kadin supports [the government's] economic policy packages to raise Indonesia's EODB rank from 109 to 40," she said.

ANGELINA ANJAR SAWITRI