Paris Club diplomacy mission accomplished: Hassan<\/p>\n
Ivy Susanti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said on Monday that
\nhis team had accomplished its mission to negotiate debt relief in
\nlast week's Paris Club meeting as well as mobilizing support for
\ngrants and debt swaps.<\/p>\n
The team met with leaders from four countries of the United
\nKingdom, France, Germany and Italy prior to the forum.<\/p>\n
\"We (Indonesia and the four European countries) not only
\ntalked about a debt moratorium, we also discussed wider schemes
\nthat were proposed (by analysts, experts) in Indonesia,\" Hassan
\ntold a press conference here.<\/p>\n
\"We reached an understanding that we would follow up our
\ndiscussion on the moratorium. At this point, I thought it was not
\nrealistic to talk about the amount of the debt moratorium and so
\non. In the end, the amount would depend on the World Bank's
\nassessment, although we agreed on terms and conditions for the
\nmoratorium.\"<\/p>\n
Nineteen creditor countries grouped in the Paris Club
\nannounced an immediate debt repayment reprieve for countries
\ndevastated by the recent Asian tsunami disaster, including
\nIndonesia, pending a full assessment from the World Bank and the
\nInternational Monetary Fund on their reconstruction and financing
\nneeds, scheduled to be completed in three months. The Paris Club
\nwill consider the necessary steps after that.<\/p>\n
Criticism has been leveled at the delegation, saying it failed
\nin diplomatic efforts and that the government had not asked for
\nenough debt relief to rebuild Aceh.<\/p>\n
Hassan said Germany, France and Italy agreed on debt swaps or
\nan increase in their grants. Germany has offered 500 million
\neuros (US$650 million) to affected countries, comprising of
\ngrants and soft loans. German is considering raising the
\npercentage of their grants, he added.<\/p>\n
Italy has agreed to convert 30 million euros of Indonesia's
\ndebt this year to finance certain projects -- including the
\nreconstruction of Aceh. \"Italy also offered the same amount to be
\nconverted in 2006,\" Hassan said.<\/p>\n
France has offered 300 million euros in soft loans with 1
\npercent interest with a 10-year grace period. The donor country
\nrefused to convert the loan into a grant since it had to revise
\nits annual budget. \"But one third of the loans will be in effect
\na grant,\" Hassan said.<\/p>\n
He added that the European Union was considering granting a
\ntariff reduction and lifting trade barriers for certain goods
\nfrom Indonesia. The EU will make the decision on July 1 and
\nMinister of Trade Mari Elka Pangestu will hold a discussion with
\nrelated EU ministries.<\/p>\n
\"France has supported the special treatment for Indonesian
\ntextiles and is willing to consider other commodities like shrimp
\nand fish products,\" Hassan said.<\/p>\n
He also said that Germany would help Indonesia develop a
\ntsunami early warning system across the archipelago, apart from
\nthe planned system in the Indian Ocean, by sending its geologists
\nto an international conference on early warning systems in
\nIndonesia next month.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/paris-club-diplomacy-mission-accomplished-hassan-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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