Remarks at Cocktail Reception

TRANSCRIPT
REMARKS
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA,
HE SUSILO BAMBANG YUDHOYONO
AT THE COCKTAIL RECEPTION
NONGSA POINT MARINA HOTEL, BATAM
SUNDAY, 25 JUNE 2006


Assalammu’alaikum Wr. Wb.

His Excellency Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Businessman,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good afternoon to all of you.

Let me begin that we purposely scheduled this event in the day time, because we know that if we scheduled it in the evening, not when England is playing Equador in the World Cup tonight. Even though we know who’s going to win.

In any case, let me begin by saying how pleased I am to welcome you to Batam on this very important day for Indonesia.

You know, I have been in office for about 20 months and everyday I feel history is in the making. But I have a feeling that today, the 25th of June 2006, is going to be long remembered as a historic day: a day when Indonesia and our good neighbor Singapore, embarks on strengthening our economic cooperation, in ways that I am confident will go a long way to enhance our economic fortunes.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and I have just concluded another one of our constructive bilateral talks, where we discussed ways to enhance our bilateral economic cooperation, especially in the Special Economic Zones in Batam, Bintan and Karimun. We have just witnessed the signing of the framework agreement that will guide us in that cooperation.

And that signing, I hope, will be the key to continue to unlock a door that leads to a new era of boundless opportunities, productivity and growth in these areas.

You all know that Indonesia is not the first country to experiment with special economic zones.

China, under Deng Xiao Ping, established these special economic zones in the provinces of Guangdong and Fujian. And something remarkable happened to them: China’s per capita doubled between 1978 and 1987, and it doubled again between 1987 and 1996. Between 1978 to 2000, China’s foreign trade exploded from US$ 36 billion to almost US$ 500 billion. It was perhaps one of the greatest economic miracles of the 20th century, and the SEZs had a lot to do with it.

We hope that the concept of special economic zones will have the same magic on Batam, Bintan and Karimun. But of course, if Batam, Bintan and Karimun are going to, it will not be because of luck or magic, but because of hard work, governance and sheer political will.

My presence here today, side by side with my good friend PM Lee Hsien Loong, is to be taken as a clear demonstration of our strongest commitment to make these special economic zones work.

Indeed, we have to make it work because this is the only way we can attract and convince other provinces to emulate its success.

I see a vision of Indonesia dotted from East to West with many productive special economic zones, each becoming dynamic centers of opportunity and prosperity that radiates outward and contaminates nearby areas.

But to get there, we have to make the first step, and we have to make this one work first. And if we get it right, the rest will be history.

I know that many of you in this room have a lot of experience with doing business in Batam, Bintan and the surrounding areas. I also know that things have not necessarily been smooth in the last few years. I am very much aware of the problems and impediments that you have been facing here. Most importantly, I also know that there have been problems in implementation of policies.

Please believe me that my Government is committed to do all we can to ensure that implementation of the framework agreement. For those who ask what kind of deal this is: I tell you that this is the “real deal”.

I have asked my Ministers and officials to get to work immediately on this. We will soon have the meeting of the Joint Steering Committee and Joint Working Group to develop an action plan, and most importantly deliver the actions speedily.

Let me assure you we mean business, and we will immediately begin by ensuring an effective and efficient implementation of existing policies --- including if necessary changing government officials who do not have the right attitude to implement this great national project.

I must say, of course, that the centerpiece of the special economic zones, of course, is you. The private sector. If these special economic zones are ever to become a success, it is because the private sector make it a success. Not the government that create jobs but you all the private sector.

I would therefore like to ask all of you to think bold, think about rapid expansion of investments in this region. The potentials are great: ranging from shipyard and oil related business, manufacturing sector such as electronics and precision equipment, chemicals and even light industry such as garments, tourism, agriculture, aquaculture and education. I promise you that the sweet taste of your investment rewards will last much longer than the hype of the World Cup fever, which will end in a few days.

So let us build this together, in synergy and for mutual benefits.

Once again, thank you for joining us here on this very special day, and my Government, Indonesian Government, looks forward to working closely with you in the coming future.

Thank you. Thank you very much.


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