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Jakarta Post

New trade minister vows to avoid political interruption

Newly installed Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi has vowed to focus on his targets and prevent political issues from affecting his job until his tenure ends

Linda Yulisman (The Jakarta Post)
Sat, February 15, 2014

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New trade minister vows to avoid political interruption Taking the oath: Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi is sworn in at the State Palace in Jakarta on Friday. Lutfi officially assumed the post left by Gita Wirjawan, who resigned last month in a bid to run for presidency. (JP/Jerry Adiguna) (JP/Jerry Adiguna)

Newly installed Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi has vowed to focus on his targets and prevent political issues from affecting his job until his tenure ends.

Speaking during the official handover ceremony on Friday, Lutfi said he would prioritize efforts to maintain price stability, to boost exports and to enhance trade diplomacy in the next eight months.

'€œI aim to become a trouble shooter to solve problems, an accelerator to quickly end problems,'€ he told dozens of trade officials at his new office.

The ceremony, which took place soon after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono formally inaugurated Lutfi as the new cabinet member at the Presidential Office.

Lutfi, 44, served as Indonesian ambassador to Japan from 2010 until late last year. From 2005 until 2009 he led the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), where he was nicknamed '€œMr. Fix It'€ by the investor community for his reform program dubbed '€œFrom Red Tape to Red Carpet'€ within the institution.

Familiar with business, Lutfi co-founded the Mahaka Group, a printing, broadcasting and multimedia company, in which he was president director and CEO along with businessmen Erick Thohir, Wishnu Wardhana and Harry Zulnardy.

Lutfi said that he would soon lay out near-term solutions to overcome potential food shortages, particularly horticulture produce, amid ongoing natural disasters.

On Thursday night, Mount Kelud in East Java erupted, resulting in the deaths of two people and the evacuation of more than 100,000, just a few months after Mt. Sinabung in North Sumatra erupted in September last year.

Indonesia'€™s consumer prices rose by 8.22 percent in January on the back of food-supply disruptions caused by adverse weather, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recently announced. Continued bad weather may push up inflation again this month, according to analysts.

To help boost exports, Lutfi said he would tackle logistics bottlenecks affecting the flow of goods for exports, which has become a key issue, and that he would also promote better trade diplomacy, especially in relation to Indonesia'€™s strategic commodities like palm oil.

Former Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan, who resigned on Jan. 31 to pursue his presidential bid, said during the occasion that he hoped Lutfi could take measures to follow up on the historic deal reached during the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting in Bali last December and the newly passed trade law.

Indonesia is prepared for stagnant exports this year on continuing weak overseas demand caused by slow recovery in the global economy. The government expects that overall exports will reach around US$180 billion in 2014, almost similar to last year'€™s $182.57 billion.

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