Indonesia: Australia Travel Warning Hampering Ties: Lawmakers

“It’s a shock for many local businessmen here. In terms of foreign investment, many Indonesian workers also lose job opportunities. I am sure no development and trade increase can be obtained under such conditions.”

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: The Jakarta Globe
By Markus Junianto Sihaloho | April 20, 2011

Lawmakers on Wednesday urged Canberra to consider lifting its travel warning on Indonesia if it wanted to maximize the countries’ trade.

Speaking after a meeting between the House of Representatives’ Commission VI, which oversees trade, and a delegation led by Australian Trade Minister Craig Emerson, Airlangga Hartarto said lawmakers considered the travel warning a sensitive issue in the context of enhancing bilateral cooperation.

The Golkar Party legislator and chairman of the trade commission said that with the existing travel warning, it would be almost impossible to commit to boosting bilateral trade.


In 2009-10, the value of trade between Australia and Indonesia was 11.8 billion Australian dollars ($12.6 billion).

Australia last month warned its citizens that the arrest of terror suspect Umar Patek in Pakistan could spark a violent response from Indonesian extremists.

“We had urged the Australian government to immediately revoke the travel warning,” Airlannga said. He added that Australia was the only nation to issue a travel warning over Patek. Such cautions were baseless, he said, adding that even the United States had tempered warnings.

The lawmaker said the number of Australian businessmen and students coming to Indonesia had already fallen sharply.

“It’s a shock for many local businessmen here. In terms of foreign investment, many Indonesian workers also lose job opportunities. I am sure no development and trade increase can be obtained under such conditions.”

Another member of the commission, Viva Yoga Mauladi, from the National Mandate Party (PAN), said the delegation had also requested Indonesia revoke a decree limiting beef imports.

For most of the lawmakers, however, such a request threatened local ranchers, he said.

“Australian farmers can sell their products more cheaply here because their government subsidizes them, a privilege that is not given to our farmers by our government,” he said.


Read original post here: Australia Travel Warning Hampering Ties: DPR