Indonesia committed to IMF agreement, Gus Dur says
Indonesia committed to IMF agreement, Gus Dur says
CAIRO (JP): In what appeared to be an attempt to allay concerns that Jakarta might part company with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), President Abdurrahman Wahid said here on Sunday that his government was committed to the Fund.
"One of the greatest challenges faced by all of us is globalization, ...for several countries globalization means that they need to take what is available or given by the developed countries in order to survive," Abdurrahman told the opening ceremony of the third Summit of the Developing Eight (D-8) countries.
"For some countries, including Indonesia, this means also that we have to listen to the terms and preconditions (set by) international agencies such as the IMF ... to enable us to stage a comeback and participate more in international trade," the President added.
The statement came after Coordinating Minister for the Economy Rizal Ramli's complaint last week that the IMF was pushing too hard for reform in Indonesia.
Rizal's statement raised concerns that Jakarta might sever its relations with the IMF.
Abdurrahman ended the speculation, however, by saying on Sunday that "the response to the IMF, World Bank and other international agencies is decisive".
"We have to accept the principles of the IMF -- free competition -- to stay within the international free trade framework," Gus Dur, as the President is also known, said.
The D-8 comprises Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.
The D-8 summit is largely symbolic because the economies of most of the participating countries suffer from deep structural problems and largely depend on foreign aid and investment for development.
All the D-8 heads of state were present at Sunday's meeting, except for Iran and Malaysia which sent representatives.
Earlier in the day, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina handed over the summit's chairmanship to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. (Budiman Moerdijat)