RIYADH, 26 May 2005 — Saudi Arabia has pledged to extend a SR187 million soft loan facility to carry out reconstruction work in the tsunami-hit areas of Indonesia’s northwestern Aceh province.
The Kingdom will wait for a formal proposal from Jakarta before the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) releases the funds for infrastructure and agriculture projects, Indonesian Minister of Agriculture Dr. Anton Apriyantono said here yesterday.
Dr. Anton is currently visiting the Kingdom to drum up support for revitalizing Indonesia’s agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors as part of an effort to help shore up the economy and reduce massive unemployment and poverty in that country.
The minister said Indonesia requires global support for the second phase of reconstruction in the tsunami-hit regions after the unprecedented devastation it caused last December.
The minister, who also visited Qatar and Kuwait before arriving in the Kingdom, intends to generate $1 billion in investments during this trip for Indonesia’s agro-based businesses as well as for rural infrastructure. He will hold talks with officials of the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah on Saturday.
Indonesia urgently needs an upgrade of its infrastructure, including roads, transportation, ports, irrigation and power to encourage and support post-harvest activities.
Referring to his talks with Saudi Minister of Agriculture Dr. Fahd Balghaneim, SFD chief Yusuf Al-Bassam and Saudi businessmen at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Anton said that “the two countries have agreed to set up a working group to implement all the provisions of an agreement, signed by Riyadh and Jakarta.”
The working group, he said, will be composed of senior officials of the agriculture ministries besides representatives of the affiliated agencies and companies.
Aton said that the two sides have also agreed to cooperate in agriculture training sector, exchange of experts besides promoting investments and marketing of Saudi dates and Indonesian tropical fruits.
Most of the Saudi assistance, the minister said, will go to Aceh and to the agricultural sector. The Saudi Red Crescent Society recently finished a study to assess the damage and make recommendations on how the government can help Aceh’s reconstruction.
A delegation of 17 Indonesian businessmen is accompanying Dr. Anton on this trip. The businessmen are also participating in the five-day long Saudi food exhibition, which ends in Riyadh today.
