ndonesia’s bid to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is approaching completion as the country seeks to become one of the quickest in acceding.
Coordinating Economy Minister Airlangga Hartarto told reporters at his Jakarta office on Monday that Indonesia now complied with 80 percent of OECD standards and practices but admitted some gaps still needed to be filled.
“Of course, of that 80 percent there are some [aspects] that are crucial that need legal completion, including foreign bribery, among others, which is a priority,” said Airlangga.
Ratifying the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention is a key prerequisite to becoming a member, and a delay in signing it would hamper the OECD’s vetting process on different fronts.
While Indonesia has bribery rules in the Corruption Law and the Criminal Code (KUHP), alongside a solo Bribery Law, the country had yet to regulate bribery abroad, particularly against foreign corporations and regulators, revealed Airlangga.
Signing the convention means Indonesia has to revise its laws to include stipulations on bribery outside of national borders.
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Foreign bribery is one of three current focus areas in the accession process, the other two being statistics law and business competition regulations.