Jakarta (The Jakarta Post/ANN) - It has been widely feared that globalization has increased the economic gap between advanced and developing or underdeveloped countries.
To a certain extent, those fears are not wrong. Many developing and underdeveloped countries find it extremely hard to keep up with - or indeed to survive - the global race.
However, in an interconnected world, no single country has complete economic superiority. Developing and underdeveloped countries both should abandon their inferiority complexes and resolve to make progress instead.
Our country, Indonesia, offers a laudable example of how a huge population need not impede economic growth. It is something to be proud of.
Similarly, the case of Lion Air, the nation's largest low-cost carrier, also shows that a large population can be a source of business opportunities.
The airline, which currently serves 36 destinations with more than 200 daily flights, agreed to buy 230 aircraft from Boeing in a purchase order deal that was signed on Friday. It was the largest commercial deal ever booked by the US aircraft manufacturer.
So important and valuable was the agreement that US President Barack Obama took time from his schedule during the East Asian Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, over the weekend, to witness the signing of the US$21.7 billion deal, which Obama said would result in the creation of more than 100,000 jobs in the US over the long term.
The agreement is sure to enhance and bolster continually improving bilateral relations between Indonesia and the US.
And more, the purchase order was one of several business or economic deals signed by various Southeast Asian nations with the US, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, India and Australia during the ASEAN and East Asia Summits. The Boeing aircraft purchase deal should mark the beginning of more such business and economic deals that will benefit both Indonesia and its trading partners in the future.
The lion has roared. It should continue to do so.
