Indonesia’s Minister of Forestry Muhammad Prakosa is calling on the EU to reject Malaysian timber products suspected of containing illegally cut Indonesian wood.
Mr Prakosa’s comments come as the Indonesian government and the EU’s representative in Jakarta discuss ways of protecting the country’s natural resources.
He said the EU is considering Indonesia’s proposal for member countries to screen Malaysian wood products and expects it to be approved by the end of 2003.
Mr Prakosa blames Malaysia and China for using illegally cut Indonesian timber. He recently dropped a plan to visit the countries to discuss solutions and has instead turned his attention on countries who buy their products.
Indonesia succeeded in persuading Japan to sign a similar agreement last year.
