S. Korea allocates US$5.4m in grant aid to Indonesia
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Mindful of the hardships it went through in the tough days after the Korean War in the 1950s, the Republic of Korea, or South Korea, has been avidly pursuing its calling to grow together with the other 140-odd developing countries of the world.
Spearheading this drive is the Korea International Corporation Agency (Koica), which the government in Seoul established in April 1991.
Operating under the supervision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Korea, Koica focuses its programs on environmental protection, human rights, women's and refugee issues and economic development.
"South Korea was one of the poor countries of the world immediately after the war, but we developed our country as best as possible with the assistance of the developed countries, and through this experiences in building our country we would like to extend our help to our fellow developing countries," the resident representative of Koica in Indonesia, Han Choong-Sik, told The Jakarta Post.
In Indonesia, Koica has allocated an amount of US$5.337 million for grants this year and an additional US$15 million to assist with reconstruction and rehabilitation programs in Nangroe Aceh Darussalam after the 2004 catastrophe.
"Out of the total aid of US$15 million sent to Aceh by Koica, Koica donated US$1.3 million in cash for medication, water treatment and other materials," said Han.
He said that the other US$13.7 million would be allocated for the development of schools, hospitals and training programs in Aceh.
"We are currently still waiting for the office of the State Minister of National Development Planning (Bappenas) to complete the blueprint for the projects," said Han.
As for the other aid projects planned for this year, he said, Koica has just handed over the Friendship Sport Center in Cibubur after its completion on March 15.
"The two-story sport center was built at a cost of US$2,8 million. It can seat 2,100 people and boasts 200 athlete's dormitory rooms, training centers and a media center," said Han.
The sport center is located on Jl. Pusdika No. 59, Cibubur, East Jakarta, and occupies 5,200 square meters of a total area of 25,000 sq m.
"We have presented the project to the directorate general of sports and the Ministry of National Education to be operated, and to maintain the sport centers in preparation for the upcoming tae kwon do, basketball and volleyball events," Han explained.
Koica, which has 25 representative offices worldwide, has invited trainees to visit Korea under its technical cooperation program for human resource development, dispatching experts such as medical doctors, scientists and tae kwon do instructors to provide consultation and make recommendations on policies and technologies in various fields. In addition, Koica has sent Korean volunteers overseas.
"In Indonesia, 75 of Korea's experts are working in Sumatra, Sulawesi, Kalimantan and Java. We expect that by the end of this year there will be another 45 experts coming into the country," said Han.
He said that the volunteers were recruited in Korea and paid by the Korean government to work for a two-year period with local residents in developing countries.
"In Indonesia, a volunteer gets paid about US$300 a month, whereas a fresh graduate in Korea can make US$2,000 per month," said Han.
Han said that the South Korean government did not expect any particular benefits by providing the aid. Rather, it considered it its duty to contribute to the development of other developing countries, since South Korea itself was helped by the developed countries in the years after the war.
"It's a token of our friendship with our fellow developing countries," said Han. (004)