World Bank president visits Indonesia
JAKARTA (JP): World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn is due in Denpasar, Bali, today at the start of his five-day visit to Indonesia.
The Ministry of Finance said in a statement yesterday that Wolfensohn is scheduled to meet with President Soeharto on May 15, and prior to that, with Minister of Finance Mar'ie Muhammad to discuss the World Bank's aid to Indonesia.
The World Bank currently leads an international consortium of donor countries to Indonesia, called the Consultative Group on Indonesia.
The group, formed in 1992 to replace the Netherlands-led Inter-Governmental Group on Indonesia, has provided nearly US$5 billion in assistance each year since its formation.
The World Bank-led group, which has met annually, is scheduled to meet again in early July to discuss new assistance to Indonesia.
Wolfensohn's visit to Indonesia is his first here since he assumed the World Bank's chairmanship in June last year.
During his visit, Wolfensohn will be accompanied by Executive Director of World Bank in Indonesia Suwan Pasugwad and the bank's Vice President for East Asia and the Pacific Russel Cheetham.
Besides meeting with Indonesian officials, Wolfensohn is scheduled to speak at the Indonesia Summit, a seminar to be opened by Soeharto next Monday. Wolfensohn will speak on Sustainable Development: Indonesia's Experience.
Wolfensohn is also scheduled to hold discussions with representatives of a number of non-governmental organizations, female intellectuals, business people, lecturers at the Yogyakarta Institute of Teacher Training and Education and the Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University, as well as those participating in the World Bank-sponsored projects.
He plans to visit a number of projects which are financed by the International Finance Corporation, an affiliate of the World Bank.
The projects to be visited by Wolfensohn include a non-formal educational center in West Nusa Tenggara, Indorama's textile factory in Purwakarta, West Java, a village infrastructure project in Magelang, Central Java, and a revolving fund project in Yogyakarta. (rid)