RI minister on world tour to introduce vision on WTO

Indonesia`s Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Mari Elka Pangestu has been on a world tour in the past several weeks to introduce her vision and mission as one the World Trade Organization (WTO) director general candidates.

In her bid to become director general of the World Trade Organization, Mari Elka Pangestu, has embarked on a world tour to persuade the trade bloc`s 158 members to vote for her.

After being cleared to qualify as one of nine candidates for the organizations top job, Mari has met in Brussels with Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg`s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, and Karel De Gucht, the European Union trade commissioner.

She has also delivered her vision and mission in a meeting in the WTO General Council in Geneva. She met with WTO representatives of a number of countries and visited a number of cities such as Washington, Beijing, Brussles, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, United Arab Emirate, Abidjan and Abuja. 

She was in Berlin, Germany on Wednesday, where she got support from the German Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS). According to KAS, Mari is a correct person to lead the WTO.

"Mari has strong professional backgrounds such in research, education and politics. She has strong capacity portfolio. So, she is a suitable and correct person to become director general of WTO," Deputy Head for International Cooperation of KAS Dr. Wolfgang Maier, told a discussion in Berlin on Wednesday.

Nine candidates are bidding to replace Pascal Lamy, the current director general, whose term expires on August 31. The new WTO leader is due to be chosen by the end of May, although this process has historically not been smooth.

A decision on the next director general is due by May 31, 2013 and the new director general will take office on September 1, 2013.

Apart from Mari Elka Pangestu, there are eight other candidates for the WTO director general post. They are Tim Groser, New Zealand`s Minister of Trade; Anabel Gonzalez, the Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica; Amina Mohamed, Kenya`s former WTO Ambassador; Alan Kyerematen, a former Minister of Trade and Industry from Ghana; Roberto Carvalho de Azevedo, Brazil`s current ambassador to the WTO; Herminio Blanco, Mexico`s former Minister of Trade and Industry who was his country`s chief negotiator for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); South Korea`s Trade Minister, Taeho Bark; and Ahmad Thougan Hindawi, a former Industry and Trade Minister of Jordan.

"There is a desire that the next WTO director general should come from developing country and should be a woman. So, we think that Mari Elka Pangestu is the correct person for the position," Wolfgang Maier noted. 

Before she was named a trade minister in 2004, Mari Pangestu was active in research and academic activities besides serving as a consultant for many international institutions.

But when asked whether the German Government would support Mari`s WTO candidacy, Maier said he could not comment on it because it was the authority of the German government to decide which is beyond his capacity. 

"I can only say that in accordance with Mari`s experience in politics, government and various international activities, she has the capacity to take up the WTO post, Wolfgang Maier said.

Mari Pangestu meanwhile said she was attending the Berlin discussion not for launching a campaign for her candidacy but for explaining what problem the world trade organization was facing and how to resolve it. She also explained how to lead the WTO so that it would benefit all stakeholders, particularly both the developed and developing countries.

She came to Germany to share and unite perception on multilateral trade system. For this purposes she has a number of important agenda.

"We come here also to accompany President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who is paying a state visit," she said. On the occasion, Mari also met with German Minister for Economic and Technology Affairs Philipp Rosler to discuss multilateral trade system and the WTO.

She said that both sides shared the opinion that WTO played an important role in preventing protectionism and keeping the world trade on the fair track in the current global economic crisis.

Indonesia`s booming local market has been attracting an increasing amount of trade and investment. With close to 250 million citizens, Indonesia has the world`s fourth largest population after China, India and the U.S. Its economy has expanded more than 6 percent in five of the last six years.

The country has been facing record trade deficits in recent months as strong domestic demand and capital spending trigger more imports, even as the global slowdown douses, demand for the country`s coal, palm oil and other commodity exports.

Indonesia, on 19 December 2012, nominated Minister Mari Pangestu for the post of WTO Director-General to succeed the current Director-General, Pascal Lamy, whose term of office expires on 31 August 2013.

Since her nomination, besides visiting Washington DC, Beijing, Brussels, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, United Arab Emirate, Abidjan, and Abuja, Mari Elka Pangestu has also recently visited Liberia, Nigeria and Egypt.

Mari accompanied President Yudhoyono in the visit to Liberia. In a meeting, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf told Yudhoyono that Liberia supported the nomination of Mari Elka Pangestu as the WTO director general.

"We appreciate the role of Indonesia in the global development. Liberia supported Mari Pangestu to lead the world trade organization," Sirleaf said after a bilateral meeting with Yudhoyono last month.

In Nigeria, Mari told a press conference on February 26, 2013 she met with Nigerian Foreign Minister Olugbenga Ayodeji Ashiru, Trade Minister and Investment Olusegun Ol. Aganga and Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo Iweala.

"We discussed bilateral relations, the roles of trade in booting economic growth and in enhancing jobs. We also discussed the future of multilateral trade under the WTO," Mari said.

Mari also discussed the same issues when he visited Egypt. She said she visited Egypt to meet Assistant Foreign Minister for Economic and International Cooperation Affairs Magdy Ragdy and First Undersecretay/Head of the Commercial Service Affairs of the Ministry of Industry and External Trade Anwar Ghany ElSahrafty.

"Besides bilateral issues, we also discussed the importance of trade for economic growth, enhancement of jobs and poverty alleviation. We discussed the future of WTO as well," Marie said.

"Indonesia and Egypt share the same views of the importance of the WTO role," she added.

Mari Elka Pangestu has also met with the ministers of trade, economy and foreign affairs of India, Japan, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Panama, Sweden, United Arab Emirate, Peru, Nepal, Malaysia and South Africa. (*)

Source: ANTARA