The Executive Director of ASEAN Foundation, Dr. Makarim Wibisono was invited by Ambassador Pitono Purnomo, Head of the Policy Analysis and Development of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be the moderator in a Brainstorming Session in the meeting hall in the Office of Bank Indonesia in Bandung, West Java. The theme of the Brainstorming Session was "Opportunities and Challenges in advancing trade and investment towards American and European regions."
The speakers at meeting were Ambassador Julian Wilson, European Union Ambassador to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam, Ambassador Paulo Alberto da Silva Soares from Brazil, Mr. Nusa Eka from the Indonesian Embassy in Berlin, Germany, Mr. Rizal A. Djaafara, Executive Director of International Department of Bank Indonesia, Mr. Edy Putra Irawadi from the office of the Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs and Mr. Chris Kanter, Vice President of the Association of Indonesian Employers (APINDO).
The meeting observed that there are several factors affecting the global trade. The factors, among others, are the global financial instability since 2008 and Euro-crises. In order to address the challenges, trade promotion should be intensified. In this context, the speakers recommended that there is a need to increase trade promotion to traditional market as well as non- traditional market such as Latin America simultaneously. For this purpose there is a need to take concerted efforts namely to improve the know-how and technology, strengthen the infrastructure, to make a reform that can transform a high cost economy into a low cost economy. In this regard, a beggar thy neighbor policy should be avoided because it will not make a global trade and economy better.
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