Indonesia Will Be Careful Over Asia-Pacific Free Trade Deal: Ministry

Boracay, Aklan Province, the Philippines (Antara Bali) - The Indonesian government will exercise caution over agreeing to free trade in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the Trade Ministry.

This is necessary to allow the country to maintain international trade cooperation without harming its national interests, the ministry said.

"We will always be cautious in facing the FTAAP (the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific). If the deal is approved and realized, negotiations will be outside the APEC forum. As such, without being part of the FTAAP process, Indonesia can continue to participate in the APEC forum," Director of APEC Cooperation and International Organization of the Trade Ministry, Deny W Kurnia, explained in a written statement released on Friday.

Ideally, Indonesia should be part of the FTAAP as it will be realized in the future, he added.

For its part, Indonesia still has enough time to prepare for the FTAAP, Kurnia affirmed.

He further noted that the FTAAP should inspire Indonesia to frame a roadmap to build a highly competitive nation.

"If Indonesia does not remain part of the forum, it will lose markets for its products among member states of the FTAAP. In fact, the Asia-Pacific region makes up 75 percent of the market for Indonesias exports," he pointed out.

Data from the Trade Ministry suggests that Indonesias trade with the rest of the APEC region rose to US$258.95 billion in 2014 from US$221.73 billion in 2010.

In 2014, Indonesias exports to APEC economies reached US$124.68 billion, while its imports from APEC economies stood at US$134.27 billion. (WDY)