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)