USAID grants RI $11.9m

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) granted an additional US$11.9 million to the government on Wednesday to help improve the provision of basic services and technical assistance.

USAID mission director in Indonesia William M. Frej said the U.S was committed to helping Indonesia, which he described as having enormous potential as a trading partner.

"There's great capacity here, great natural resources, and we feel that this is the largest market for U.S. products and it's a good chance for Indonesians marketing their products in the U.S.," said Frej after signing an agreement on the grant.

Indonesia was represented at the signing by the deputy for economic affairs at the National Development Planning Agency, Soekarno Wirokartono.

The grant comes on top of some $74.2 million that has previously been granted in the past five years.

Frej also said that the U.S. government, through USAID, planned to provide another $800 million in grants over the next five years for more projects in the fields of basic services, education, democracy building and decentralization.

"Some of the major projects will be in the aspects of health, environment, water for the poor and others to support the country's economic growth," he said.

Frej also said USAID was closely monitoring previous projects to ensure that targeted results were met.

"Sustainability will depend on the effectiveness of the programs. By increasing the capacity and capability of the Indonesians, they will soon control these programs in the coming years," he said.