French aid to Indonesia

French aid to Indonesia

JAKARTA (JP): The French government agreed here yesterday to
provide soft loans amounting to 671 million French francs (US$138
million) to Indonesia.

The agreement was made in line with the French commitment made
during the July meeting of the Consultative Group for Indonesia
(CGI) in Paris.

The French embassy said in a statement that the soft loans
would be used to finance infrastructure and equipment projects,
particularly in the fields of communications and health care.

The soft loans signed by French Ambassador Thierry de Beauce
and the acting director general for economic affairs of the
foreign ministry, Rusli Suryoatmodjo, will also be used to
finance projects related to the computerization of administrative
services.

The ambassador also signed an agreement for five million
French francs in grants to be provided in the form of technical
assistance.

France has been the second largest bilateral donor to
Indonesia over the last 15 years, with disbursements of up to 14
billion French francs. (hen)