In contrast to frequent criticism of the government's industrial development policy, a United Nations agency apparently believes that it has a lot to offer other developing countries.
"I have been discussing details of areas where we can promote some of the best practices from your country to other regions," United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) director general Kandeh K. Yumkella said Monday in Jakarta.
UNIDO is a specialized agency of the UN with 172 members that aims to assist developing countries accelerate their industrial development.
Yumkella said he had discussed with Industry Ministry Fahmi Idris some of the innovations that Indonesia had made in the SME sector that could be used as examples for other developing or poorer countries under the South-South Cooperation (SSC) initiative.
"We have discussed what we can learn from you, for example, about jathropa and its processing. Some of the pilots that the government will launch soon will be able to meet energy needs in rural communities."
"We feel that this has great potential for the drier areas of Central and West Africa, where jathropa grows naturally. With basic processing technologies, it can raise rural incomes. We are using it as a platform for South-South cooperation," he said.
Apart from Jathropa, Yumkella said that they had also discussed bridging cooperation in other sectors, such as collaboration in fisheries and shrimp production between Indonesian companies and other countries in the Southern Hemisphere.
To support its future activities in Indonesia, UNIDO plans to establish a regional center for South-South cooperation in Jakarta, following the establishment of such centers in China, India and South Africa.
The Indonesian center is expected to serve as a catalyst in mapping out the available potential and modalities in the Southeast Asian region.
Agriculture Ministry Secretary-General Hasanuddin Ibrahim, who also met with Yumkella, said that he had proposed collaboration in the biotechnology and agribusiness sectors to UNIDO.
"Germ plasma is one of our crucial natural resources. Thus, the development of biotechnology is very important to us," he said.
Hasanuddin said that Indonesia had been providing agricultural assistance to a number of African countries, including Tanzania, Gambia and Madagascar, since 1992. This assistance had helped these African countries increase their rice yields.
During the 2000-2004 period, South-South exports grew at an annual rate of 17.6 percent, which topped the growth rate for South-North and North-South exports during the same period, at 12.6 percent and 9.7 percent, respectively.
South-South foreign direct investment (FDI) also increased -- from $14 billion in 1995 to $47 billion in 2003. (11)Jakarta Post
