Mega, envoys discuss Aceh reconstruction

President Megawati Soekarnoputri (right) discussed the Aceh reconstruction issue with U.S. Ambassador Ralph L. Boyce (left) and Japanese Ambassador Yutaka Limura (second from left) at the State Palace on Friday.

Boyce, Limura, Italian Ambassador Francesco Maria Greco as the European Union Representative, and World Bank country director Andrew Steer are planning to visit the war-torn province of Aceh on Monday to determine effective measures to rebuild the province. Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is expected to accompany them.

"We would like to have a talk with the local government, representatives of civil society and the business sector about what we can do in order to help reconstruction and rehabilitation in Aceh," Ambassador Limura said after the meeting.

The planned visit is part of follow-up efforts to turn the Dec. 3 Tokyo meeting on post-war reconstruction in Aceh into concrete actions.

"We have several teams to survey the needs in the field and now we will start to discuss concrete plans of what we can do," Limura remarked.

Over 20 countries and international organizations held a meeting in Tokyo on Dec. 3 to set up a trust fund for post-war reconstruction in the province.

Limura said that there would be several sessions regarding the fund for Aceh in the coming talks with the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) on Jan. 21 in Bali.

"As soon as we come back to Jakarta, we'll be having some sessions on Aceh during the CGI meeting," the ambassador said.