RI hopes Japan will help IT projects<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia expects the Japanese government will
\nallocate part of its US$15 billion \"digital divide\" fund to
\nfinance information technology development projects.<\/p>\n
Minister of Industry and Trade Luhut Panjaitan said here on
\nFriday that a team from the Indonesian information technology
\n(IT) commission would meet Japanese officials here later this
\nmonth to discuss the funding requirement.<\/p>\n
The minister said the commission, known as Telematika
\nIndonesian Coordinating Team, would propose a number of IT
\nprojects during the meeting.<\/p>\n
\"We certainly need the funding to promote Internet access in
\nthe country,\" Luhut said. But he was reluctant to mention how
\nmuch of the Japanese aid Indonesia would require.<\/p>\n
The Japanese government promised in a summit meeting in
\nNovember of leaders of the eight industrialized countries in
\nTokyo to provide $15 billion in soft loans and grants to help
\npromote the development of information technology in developing
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
Promoting Internet access is one of the priorities of the
\nfunding.<\/p>\n
The commission's secretary-general, J.B. Kristiadi, said that
\nthe team to join the meeting with the Japanese officials included
\nrepresentatives from the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and
\nIndustry, the Telecommunications and Information Technology
\nSociety and the Internet Service Provider Association (APJII).<\/p>\n
Representative from the private sector would also take part in
\nthe meeting because the Japanese special aid would also be given
\nto private companies.<\/p>\n
Kristiadi said one of the proposed programs would be an
\nongoing Internet-goes-to school project. The project has been
\nable to provide Internet access to 1,200 high schools or roughly
\n600,000 students, he added.<\/p>\n
The project, known as Sekolah2000, is being carried out in
\ncooperation with APJII, Warnet Association, the Ministry of
\nEducation, Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunication, and
\nPT Telkom.<\/p>\n
A number of telecommunications facilities have been built to
\nsupport the program, Kristiadi said.<\/p>\n
He said that the project is expected to be able to provide
\nInternet access to 1,800 schools or 900,000 students.<\/p>\n
Kristiadi said another program is establishing an e-government
\nwhich is a government attempt to serve the public effectively
\nthrough the Internet.<\/p>\n
The e-government program will be one of the pilot projects to
\nbe carried out in several provinces this year such as in Jakarta
\nand Tangerang, he said.<\/p>\n
Other programs would also include promoting e-commerce,
\nespecially in small and medium enterprises.<\/p>\n
Japan plans to provide $15 billion between 2001 and 2005 on
\nprograms to erase the digital divide between industrialized and
\ndeveloping nations. The fund will comprise $12 billion in loans
\nand the remaining $3 billion as grants. (05)<\/p>",
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