Japan pledges to help RI

Japan pledges to help RI

TOKYO (AFP): Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka said yesterday Japan would maintain close contact with the Group of Seven (G-7) nations and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help Indonesia overcome its financial crisis.

"We will maintain close contact with the G-7 and in particular with the IMF, " Mitsuzuka told a news conference after a regular cabinet meeting. "We are cooperating with the IMF and the United States."

"Implementation of the IMF program is a prerequisite to settling (financial market) conditions" in Indonesia, he added.

The IMF-led bailout package will give Indonesia access to some US$40 billion in funds from multilateral agencies and donor countries to restore international confidence and arrest the slide in its currency.

The G-7 comprises Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.