Australia pledges more assistance

JAKARTA: Australia has pledged an additional A$5 million to support the election process in Indonesia through the technical assistance scheme of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

The additional pledge brings Australia's total contribution to A$15 million, of which A$14.2 million is being channeled through UNDP. Australia is the second largest contributor through the UNDP Technical Assistance Program to support the Indonesian elections, a UNDP statement said.

Earlier, on March 2, Australian Ambassador to Indonesia John P. McCarthy signed a memorandum of understanding with Ravi Rajan, resident representative of UNDP Indonesia and resident coordinator of the UN System, regarding a A$9.2 million contribution.

Of the fresh aid, A$4.25 million is earmarked to support national monitoring organizations and the rest is to support voter information drives.