Canada pledges aid for 2004 polls

JAKARTA: The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) has pledged to provide Indonesia with financial assistance for the 2004 legislative elections, an Indonesian official said.

The pledge was made during a meeting between CIDA director for Southeast Asia and the South Pacific, Syed Sajjadur Rahman, and officials of Indonesia's General Elections Commission (KPU) in Ottawa last Thursday, the spokesman for the Indonesian Embassy in Ottawa, A Hermin Mala, said on Friday.

The KPU's Canada visit was part of its efforts to educate Indonesian communities abroad about the elections, he said.

Hermin said Rahman noted that Canada had high hopes that Indonesia would hold fair and transparent elections.

However, he said that providing funds did not mean that Canada had a special interest in Indonesia's legislative elections.

During their tour of Canada, the KPU officials also met with Canadian parliamentarians. --Antara