Indonesia has no plans to close embassies yet

Indonesia has no plans to close embassies yet

JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Foreign Affairs so far has no
plans to shut down any Indonesian representative office abroad
but admits that the severe depreciation of the dollar will
severely effect diplomatic activities.

"With an exchange rate of Rp 8,000 against the dollar (latest
rate Wednesday), the value of funds allocated for our overseas
representatives will drop more than 50 percent," Minister of
Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas told journalists after a breaking of
the fast ceremony Wednesday evening.

The minister hinted that the ministry did not have any plan to
close any of its 111 representative offices. "We will even open
new embassies in Lima, Peru, and in Doha, Qatar," he said.

Legislator Muchsin Bafadal of the United Development Party
faction has suggested the government reduce the number of
Indonesian diplomatic missions abroad to reduce U.S. dollar
spending.

Separately, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' secretary-general
Abdul Irsan, told The Jakarta Post yesterday that the ministry
would consider downsizing its diplomatic operations abroad.

"We will hold a meeting today (yesterday) to discuss the
issue," Irsan said.

About 600 Indonesian diplomats are currently posted abroad.

The 1998/1999 draft budget, presented to the House of
Representatives Tuesday, allocates Rp 1.34 trillion to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs for routine expenditures.

It will receive an additional Rp 12.88 billion classified
under development expenditure which will be used to counter
negative issues on Indonesia, including human rights and the East
Timor issue.

Last year, the government allocated Rp 961 million for routine
expenditures and Rp 49 billion for development expenses. However,
the value of the rupiah at the time was still about 2,400 against
the U.S. dollar.

"This crisis may be a blessing in disguise as we will be
forced to maximize the ability of our diplomats," said Irsan.
(prb)