Indonesia to exchange gas with Thai rice

Indonesia and Thailand will discuss a barter-trade deal during the official visit of Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawtra which will start on Thursday, Kompas daily reported on Thursday.

Director General of Foreign Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Makarim Wibisono, said on Wednesday that Indonesia would offer natural gas from Natuna and railway coach from state owned railway industry PT Inka in exchange of Thai rice.

The counter trade plan had been discussed by the two governments? senior officials in Thailand recently. ?We hope an agreement could be reached during a bilateral meeting between the Thai prime minister and Indonesian president,? he was quoted as saying.

He said that the Indonesian government would also propose to exchange aircraft produced by the Bandung-based aircraft producer during the counter trade negotiation with Thailand.

During former president Soeharto? s era, Indonesia exchanged a passenger airplane with Thai sticky rice. But the deal was widely criticized. Economists said that the airplane was exchanged with rice because no one would buy it with cash. (*)