GTZ contributes to RI development

GTZ contributes to RI development

The Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH is Germany's public cooperation for development. It operates within the scope of the German Federal Government Development Policy: foreign policy, economic policy and development policy complement one another with a view to building global partnership in cooperation with the countries of the South. This cooperation is practiced in two main areas: Financial Cooperation, handled by Kreditanstalt fuer Wiedraufbau (KfW), and Technical Cooperation -- GTZ's area of activity -- which aims to enhance the efficiency of human resources and organizations.

Presently, GTZ is operating in more than 135 countries; Indonesia being one of its most important partners. This cooperation dates back as far as 1975, and many long-standing friends and partners of GTZ will well remember our successful cooperation in large integrated regional development projects in West Sumatra and in East Kalimantan, or in building up the first Indonesian television station TVRI.

More recent examples of sustainable cooperation include the organizational and regulatory support to Indonesian Telkom prior to and during its transformation phase to privatization, the technical design for a mass rapid transport system in the Jakarta-Bogor-Tangerang-Bekasi (Jabotabek) area, and the very rewarding community-based projects in Nusa Tenggara Timur and Nusa Tenggara Barat provinces, where the work of many young Indonesian professionals and NGOs could be successfully integrated in the poverty alleviation schemes of the Indonesian Government.

Currently, about 75 expatriate project managers, 40 integrated experts and more than 350 Indonesian professionals are promoting Indonesia's development in more than 50 technical cooperation projects on behalf of GTZ.

Today's priority areas, as agreed between the governments of Indonesia and Germany, include human resource development (particularly basic education and vocational training), social and economic infrastructure (water supply, basic and family health, energy and transport), environment protection and natural resource management, rural and agriculture development and the strengthening of small and medium scale private enterprises.

Decentralization of political mandates and governmental planning and decision-making, the increasingly important fight against poverty in urban and rural areas, as well as the ecological and social sustainability of economic development are key elements in GTZ's approach.

The deep structural, political and economic crisis hitting Indonesia today is perceived by GTZ as a tremendous challenge: to rethink and further improve its development partnership with Indonesia, and to evaluate and possibly further enhance its impact. Key questions leading to even closer and more fruitful performance of our cooperation will be: How can we help to reconcile fast-yielding rescue programs with long-term reform objectives? How can civil society and the private economic sector be better integrated into overall development objectives? This includes efforts to coordinate and link GTZ contributions with other relevant development agents and to disseminate the gains achieved in our projects within the Indonesian society.

Please address your questions, recommendations and comments on GTZ's cooperation with Indonesia to: Oliver Auge, GTZ Office Jakarta, Menara Cakrawala, 8th Floor, Jl. M.H. Thamrin No.9, Jakarta, 10340; Tel: 324007, Fax: 324070, E-mail: gtz-indonesien@id.gtz.de