NAM ministers to discuss debt problems

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia will host a ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to discuss crippling debt problems of the movement's least developed members.

The meeting will be chaired by Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Economy and Finance, Saleh Afiff.

Nana Sutrisna, assistant to the NAM chairman, said yesterday that participants of the meeting will exchange their views and experience on debt management.

"I have no pre-conceived notions about the concrete targets or outcomes of the meeting. It depends on what issues are raised during the session," he said.

He said that the agenda and subjects to be discussed during the three-day meeting, which will begin on Aug. 13, is being prepared by a seven-member team of experts comprised of former economic ministers. The group will be led by Widjojo Nitisastro, the architect of the Indonesian economy.

Nana said the meeting will be participated in by 31 NAM members, comprising of 29 countries categorized as least developed nations and two countries with "very heavy" debt burdens.

The 29 countries include Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Niger, Sao Tome & Principe, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zaire and Zambia.

"The other two participating countries, Angola and Nicaragua, are not categorized as least developed members but they have heavy debt burdens," he said.

Representatives of international financial institutions, including the African Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank, will also take part as observers in the meeting.

"An invitation was also extended to the representative of the UN Secretary General," Nana said.

Exchange

Nana said the meeting will give the opportunity to the movement's least developed nations to exchange views on debt management.

"Indonesia will not, therefore, form a bloc or a front but will simply try to help them. It will not also take over their debt burdens," he said, when was asked about the position of Indonesia, also one of largest debtor nations.

He said that settling the debt problems of the least developed nations is one of important agendas approved during the NAM Summit in Jakarta two years ago.

President Soeharto, as NAM's chairman, has appealed to industrial nations to reduce the crippling debt of the least developed nations during the summit of the Group of Seven (G-7) industrial nations in Tokyo last year.

"The debt problems of developing nations were also raised during the recent Summit of the G-7 in Napoli. It was an encouraging development," he said,

Nana acknowledged that France has announced a package of debt reliefs to a number of French speaking nations in Africa.

Some Latin countries also received a special treatment from their donors, he said.

"However, such debt reliefs are partial ... what we want is a fair treatment," he said.

During the Jakarta summit, Indonesia proposed a tripartite cooperation arrangement. Under this arrangement, developed countries were expected to help finance development programs in least developed countries of the movement, while other members with higher levels of development could provide skilled workers or technology for the programs. (hen)