President Soeharto to get UNDP award

President Soeharto to get UNDP award

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto will receive an award from
the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for his outstanding
commitment to alleviating poverty in Indonesia, Foreign Minister
Ali Alatas said yesterday.

UNDP administrator James Gustave Speth will present the award
in a brief ceremony at Merdeka Palace on Sept. 8.

"The President will be the first recipient of such an UNDP
award, because it has never before been given to an individual,"
Alatas said after meeting Soeharto at the latter's residence on
Jl. Cendana.

President Soeharto has launched several major poverty
reduction measures both as president and as chairman of the
Yayasan Dana Sejahtera Mandiri charity foundation.

State Minister of Population Haryono Suyono said Tuesday the
President's foundation had given financial assistance to more
than six million poor people who had received between Rp 20,000
and Rp 80,000 each.

The foundation has collected Rp 1.3 trillion in donations in
the months to August.

"On the same day the President will open a regional workshop
on poverty alleviation," Alatas said.

Participants from 14 Asia-Pacific countries will attend the
workshop. (prb)