Members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum are exploring the possibility of liberalizing the service sector to help boost economic growth in the region, a senior Indonesian official said.
APEC members were deliberating the issue that would be brought up at regional and international forums authorized for free trade negotiations, the Jakarta Post daily on Wednesday quoted Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu as saying.
"We have just talked about initial steps we need to take in relation to our plans to liberalize the service sector, learning of the advantages and disadvantages," she said Tuesday on the sidelines of an APEC seminar on the impact of liberalization in services.
Initially, she said, each member would formula a method to measure their achievements in the service sector.
Trade between APEC members accounts for 50 percent of global trade, with 60-70 percent of each member's trade conducted with other members.
Indonesian laws would guarantee healthy competition in the service sector.
Meanwhile, Gusmardi Bustami, the ministry's international trade cooperation director general, said the plan would be fully carried out by 2020 on a voluntary basis.
"We should all realize the service sector has great potential to contribute 40 percent to our GDP although the number is not quite apparent," he said.
Source:Xinhua
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