The Netherlands will make 200 million euros available for

The Netherlands will make 200 million euros available for
reconstruction aid for the Tsunami victims. In the next five
years Indonesia and Sri Lanka, both long-standing development
partners of the Netherlands, will receive extra support to deal
with the long term reconstruction work in the stricken areas.

The Dutch government will select projects and areas in close
cooperation with the Indonesian government, participating donors
and Aceh civil society organizations.

Projects will focus on water, sanitation and education - all
areas in which the Netherlands has lengthy expertise. In
addition, the Netherlands will help fund tsunami early warning
systems.

To maximize transparency, accountability and efficiency, Dutch
development minister Agnes Van Ardenne has chosen to pledge 60
million dollars for 2005 in grant resources to a major new donor
trust fund that was launched earlier this week in Jakarta.

This multi-donor trust fund pools aid resources in support of
the Government's rehabilitation and reconstruction program for
Aceh and North Sumatra. It was created to accelerate
implementation of the recovery blueprint by providing effective
and sustainable coordinated grant financing which will not add to
the administrative burden of the Indonesian government.

However, monitoring rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts
with an estimated total cost of 4.5 billion dollars will indeed
make great demands on the audit systems. Therefore, the
Netherlands, together with the Asian Development Bank, has
decided to further bolster the Indonesian auditor's office, BPK.

By working in close cooperation with the Indonesian
government, local authorities, and with other donors, and by
helping the Indonesian government to monitor the reconstruction
process properly, the Netherlands is showing its firm commitment
to the people of Indonesia and its willingness to help them
overcome this terrible tragedy.