Japanese aid tops 200m yen

JAKARTA: Japan is to grant Indonesia 200 million yen (US$1.7 million) in financial aid during the first quarter of 1997, Japanese Ambassador Taizo Watanabe said yesterday.

"The assistance to be given in the first quarter of this year is 40 million yen more than that given in the last quarter of 1996," Watanabe said after signing a grant for two non- governmental organizations.

The grant, which partly consists of equipment, is part of the Grassroots Assistance given by the Japanese Embassy every three months.

Watanabe expressed the hope the aid would be channeled to projects aiming to improve Indonesian people's welfare, particularly in agriculture, electricity generation, education, health and social development, he said.

Earlier this month, Japan also provided a grant worth US$11,000 to two non-governmental organizations in Yogyakarta and Central Java, Antara reported. (swe)