Politic-Economic-Society-Tech

Indonesia debt to be reviewed

Australia said yesterday it was undertaking a joint study with the World Bank of the make up and management of IndonesiaХs foreign debt to see whether the international community could ease the massive burden. 
ТWe and the World Bank... are now going to put together a joint study on the structure of that debt and whether anything can be done about it internationally,У Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said.
He said the joint study was agreed upon during a visit to Australia last week by World Bank President James Wolfensohn. 
ТThatХs on a no-commitments basis. We have no idea what could be done about it, but we need to understand the structure of Indonesian foreign debt because (it is) a big problem for Indonesia as they struggle to get out of the economic crisis that has engulfed the country off and on since 1997,У Downer added. 
The Washington-based World Bank is one of IndonesiaХs largest creditors, along with the International Monetary Fund and Paris Club of creditors. 
Downer said the study would investigate how much in loans was pilfered by corrupt officials and see whether adjustments to payment schedules Р over and above that already agreed to by the Paris Club Р can ease the burden on IndonesiaХs new President Megawati Sukarnoputri. 
Australian Prime Minister John Howard is scheduled to go to Jakarta on August 12-13 to meet Megawati, who replaced former president Abdurrahman Wahid last month after Wahid was ousted from power for incompetence after a chaotic 21-month rule. 
Aid agencies and some creditors have said the international lenders should consider forgiving some of IndonesiaХs $30 billion aid debt, a third of which the World Bank has said was stolen by the regime of former president Suharto. 

source: Bahrain Tribune Daily Newspaper, Aug. 8, 2001