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JK: AEC benefits businesspeople in S. Sulawesi
Former vice president Jusuf Kalla said Indonesia should not be wary of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) -- which would be implemented in 2015 -- as entrepreneurs, especially those from South Sulawesi, could capitalize on it
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Former vice president Jusuf Kalla said Indonesia should not be wary of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) -- which would be implemented in 2015 -- as entrepreneurs, especially those from South Sulawesi, could capitalize on it.
Kalla disclosed the matter when he opened the 14th Bugis Makassar Traders meeting in Makassar on Monday. The annual meeting was attended by more than 1,000 entrepreneurs hailing from the province but living in different areas of the nation.
According to Kalla, the AEC will further expedite the exportation of commodities and services to Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesian migrant workers working in neighboring countries, without complicated regulations.
"The faster the AEC is implemented, the better it will be for South Sulawesi entrepreneurs because they will be able to easily export commodities and services," said Kalla, who is also the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) head.
South Sulawesi, added Kalla, has potential in agriculture, as well as plantation and fishery resources that could be easily processed and exported to Southeast Asian countries.
"It's time to develop the agricultural industry by changing agrobusiness into an agro-industry so as to boost the production of products that could be immediately sold to Southeast Asian countries," said Kalla.
He also said that development in eastern Indonesia had to be accelerated so as to match the condition in western Indonesia. A wide inter-region gap would only spark conflict that could lead to national disintegration, he said.
