RI concerned about cut in Japanese aid

RI concerned about cut in Japanese aid

TOKYO (AFP): Indonesia yesterday expressed concern about a
Japanese plan to slash its foreign aid due to tight budget
conditions, Japanese foreign ministry officials said.

Ginandjar Kartasasmita, Indonesia's state minister for
national development planning and chairman of the National
Development Planning Board, showed the concern during a meeting
with Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda in Tokyo, the ministry
officials said.

The Indonesian minister was quoted by the officials as telling
Ikeda: "I understand the situation, but demand for development
funds is big."

Ikeda said Japan was considering making more use of private
funds in helping development in Indonesia to compensate for a
planned cut in official development assistance (ODA).

Last week, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto said Japan's ODA
would be slashed by as much as 10 percent next year, marking the
first decline in two decades.

The Japanese government has allocated 1.17 trillion yen (US$10
billion) to its ODA budget for the current 12-month period ending
in March next year, up 2.1 percent from a year earlier.

Indonesia and China are the biggest recipients of Japanese
aid.