RI signs deal with JICA

RI signs deal with JICA

JAKARTA (JP): The government signed a memorandum of
understanding on Thursday with the Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA) for technical assistance to local small
and medium enterprises.

JICA's Takumi Ueshima said that the technical assistance would
go to three local manufacturing and industry clusters, from the
10 clusters initially selected.

"A cluster is an agglomeration of enterprises within the same
geographical area," JICA's associate expert Noriko Takahashi
said, citing Cirebon for rattan products and Sidoarjo for
machinery.

Ueshima said that the project, which will begin in October and
last for two to three years, would aim at empowering the clusters
so that they could help improve Indonesia's economic structure.

Without stating the exact amount, Ueshima said that JICA had
budgeted approximately US$2 million to $3 million for the
projects.

The assistant to the coordinating minister for the economy,
Dipo Alam, said that he hoped one of the clusters up for
preselection would be in the information, communications and
technology sector, especially for the development of Internet
kiosks. (tnt)