Jokowi: Indonesia ready to Support AEC 2015

President Joko Widodo attended his first Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, on November 12-13. He asserted during the meeting that Indonesia was ready to support the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) free market in 2015. "Indonesia will not let itself be merely a market," he said.

According to Joko, an increase in inter-ASEAN trade will be the key to AEC success. "Within the next five years, I hope the value of trade between ASEAN member states can reach at least 35-40 percent," added the president. As of now, inter-ASEAN trade volume is 24.2 percent. He also urged other member states to work together in doubling the ASEAN GDP, from US$ 2 trillion to US$ 4 trillion, and reducing the poverty rate to 9.3 percent by 2030.

Rahmat Pramono, the permanent representative of Indonesia to ASEAN, said that Indonesia's readiness to face the AEC is only 82 percent. He sees the integration as an opportunity for economic growth. Sri Adiningsih, an economist from Gadjah Mada University said that Indonesia has been ASEAN's main support because of its central location in the region. "Our trade balance in the area, be it oil or non-oil, experienced surplus for a while," she said.

November 18, 2014