RI's energy sector ready to face trade liberalization

The Indonesian oil and gas industry, will have no problem to face the liberalization of the energy sector to be carried under the ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Area (FTA ASEAN Korea), according to a senior government official has said as reported by Bisnis Indonesia on Saturday.

Suryanto Chandra, the head of the planning department of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, said in Jakarta on Friday that the Indonesian oil and gas sector had been more relatively competitive than those of other ASEAN members.

"The inclusion of the energy sector in the free trade arrangement carried out under FTA ASEAN Korea will unlikely cause a problem to Indonesia," said Suryanto, one of the Indonesian representative in the multilateral trade talk.

Indonesia, which has established a close cooperation with Korea in LNG trade for many years, should have a better position compared to other ASEAN members in taking the advantage of the liberalization in the oil and gas industry in the region, he added.

According to him, the deliberation over the possibility of expanding the free trade arrangement between ASEAN and Korea into the energy sector is underway. "Hopefully, the negotiations can be concluded next year," he added. (*)