World Bank president visits Indonesia
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)