Rizal asks for Japan's support at upcoming donors' meeting
Rizal asks for Japan's support at upcoming donors' meeting
TOKYO (Agencies): Indonesia's chief economics minister Rizal Ramli asked Japanese Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa on Tuesday for support at next week's crucial meeting of foreign donors in Tokyo.
However, Miyazawa gave little away in response.
Indonesia will seek financial support worth $4.8 billion from foreign donors to fill the gap in its 2001 budget at the annual meeting on Oct. 17-18 of the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI).
"Ramli's visit was mainly limited to exchanging views and requesting support," a Japanese Finance Ministry official told reporters.
Miyazawa was quoted by the official as replying: "Japan, as a friend, will support Indonesia by standing behind you."
But the official said no further details were discussed.
Miyazawa did not mention any specific amount that Japan will pledge at the aid meeting, since it has to consult with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, which are also major aid donors to Indonesia, the official said.
The donor funds, combined with asset sales, will be vital to plug the 2001 deficit, estimated by some analysts to be five percent of Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP).
Japan is one of the major donors in the CGI, along with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
Ahead of the critical meeting of foreign donors, the United States and some other countries have threatened to halt vital aid if President Abdurrahman Wahid fails to disarm the militias after they killed three U.N. refugee workers last month.
Japan believes Indonesia must continue its efforts to stem domestic conflict, but non-economic issues should be kept separate from the CGI meeting, the Finance Ministry official said.
Rizal told Miyazawa that Indonesia has taken various actions to improve the situation, although these actions have not led to immediate resolution.
At the previous aid conference in February, Indonesia's major aid donors pledged US$4.7 billion in new loans to help fund the country's projected state budget deficit for fiscal 2000.
Japan pledged $1.5 billion of that amount.
Separately, Germany said on Tuesday it is committed to supporting reform in Indonesia.
The German government said in a communique in Bonn after holding a meeting in Bonn to review its development aid policy that Indonesia was in the middle of "momentous societal, political and economic change.
The main goals in German aid were to help in decentralization and building a market economy, the communique said.
Germany has pledged 75 million marks (37.5 million euros/$31.9 million) in special aid to Indonesia for 2000 -- 45 million marks in financial aid and 30 million for technical cooperation.