World donors pledge $520m for East Timor

World donors pledge $520m for East Timor

TOKYO (AFP): International donors meeting in Tokyo on Friday pledged more than US$520 million to help East Timor's reconstruction on its path to statehood.

"Nearly 200 delegates from over 50 countries and international agencies gathered in Tokyo today to pledge over $520 million in grant funding over the next three years to rebuild East Timor and to ensure its smooth transition to future independence," said a statement from co-hosts the World Bank, United Nations and the Japanese government.

Of the total, $370 million will go to budget needs and reconstruction over the next three years, it said.

Some $215 million of the 370 million will go into two trust funds, one administered by the World Bank for infrastructure, farming, health and education.

The other trust fund will be run by the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), which is running the former Portuguese colony until its independence from Indonesia, and East Timorese representatives.

UNTAET's share will go to the costs of building up the putative state's public administration.

Another $158 million has been pledged "for other bilateral and multilateral reconstruction assistance," while $149 million will go toward humanitarian relief.

A committee comprising East Timorese and UNTAET representatives will be set up to prioritize where the aid should go, the statement said.

"The key to success is the self-help efforts by the East Timorese themselves," said Shozo Azuma, state secretary for foreign affairs of Japan, which pledged 100 million dollars over the next three years.

"I strongly hope that the participating donors and international organizations will continue their support and that the East Timorese themselves will make utmost efforts for self- reliance."

The donors will meet to review East Timor's progress in six months in the Portuguese capital Lisbon, the statement added. In a separate statement the European Commission pledged new funding of "at least 60 million euros ($58.67 million)" for East Timor.

"Attention is shifting from dealing with the emergency to putting East Timor on its feet for the long term," said Emiliano Fossati, the commission's Asia director.

The UN's chief administrator in East Timor, Sergio Vieira de Mello, paid credit in the joint statement to the "extraordinary resilience, generosity and courage" of the territory's people.

East Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence from Indonesia in a referendum in August. The vote sparked an orgy of violence by militia groups opposed to independence who were backed by the Indonesian military.

The World Bank's Asia-Pacific vice president, Jean-Michel Severino, hailed the international community for coming quickly to East Timor's aid.

"But continued support and realizing the commitments we have made here today is absolutely necessary for East Timor's success and sustainability as it transitions into independence," he said.

East Timor independence leader Xanana Gusmao, in a speech opening the one-day aid meeting, identified farm aid as the top priority for international donors seeking to help his devastated homeland rebuild.

"We believe that economic recovery in East Timor must be led by the agricultural sector," Gusmao said.

"I would like to call your attention to an urgent problem -- lack of agricultural inputs to ensure planting in the current season, before the end of the month," he said.

"In this context, I appeal to you to assist us quickly in supplying seeds and tools for farmers."

On the sidelines of the meeting, Gusmao, who is tipped to be East Timor's first head of state, met Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and vowed to strengthen the fledgling state's ties with both Indonesia and Australia.

"I hope East Timor will maintain good relations with Indonesia and Australia," Obuchi was quoted by a Japanese official as telling Gusmao, who replied it was "important" to get along with the two powerful neighbors.