Jakarta, May 14 -- The Indonesian government has urged the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) to strengthen support for improving the competitiveness of the tropical timber industry through more targeted technology transfer and capacity building.

The call was made by Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni during a bilateral meeting with ITTO Executive Director Sheam Satkuru at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on May 12.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Raja said the meeting discussed stronger cooperation between Indonesia and ITTO in supporting sustainable forest management, developing a sustainable tropical timber industry, and improving the global competitiveness of Indonesian forestry products.

The minister e...