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)