The Hindu : Front Page : India offers financial aid to Indonesia

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jan 08, 2005

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India offers financial aid to Indonesia

By P. S. Suryanarayana

JAKARTA, JAN. 7. India today proposed extending "concessional lines of credit" to Indonesia for the "reconstruction of roads, buildings and harbours" in Aceh province, which was ravaged by the tsunami 12 days ago.

The External Affairs Minister, K. Natwar Singh, extended the offer to the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, during their meeting here on Friday.

Should Indonesia accept this offer, New Delhi's assistance to this country will go beyond the emergency help now being rendered by two naval ships. Indonesia has registered the highest toll of nearly 1,00,000 in the natural disaster and the number of internally displaced persons has been placed at 6,00,000.

While over 50 per cent of the capital of Aceh province was badly affected, 80 per cent of Meulaboh town was destroyed. A hospital ship of the Indian Navy is engaged in the relief operations in the town.

Appreciating the Indian initiatives, Mr. Susilo told Mr. Singh: "Your ships have helped us a lot and eased our burden." The President, who came in for considerable praise from the international community for having organised an urgent multilateral conference on the tsunami challenge as a "result-oriented event", indicated to Mr. Singh that it might take Indonesia three to five years to recover fully from the disaster.

The other subjects that came up for specific mention during the talks included the possibility of cooperation in the energy sector. Mr. Susilo indicated that he was looking forward to visiting India.

Those present at the talks included the Secretary (East) in the External Affairs Ministry, Rajiv Sikri, and India's Ambassador to Indonesia, H. K. Singh, besides the President's top aides.

The External Affairs Minister and the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar, met on the sidelines of the tsunami summit to discuss the situation on the island against the backdrop of Colombo's efforts to overcome the crisis and the ongoing Indian relief mission.

On India's aid diplomacy, Mr. Singh, who left Jakarta today, said the general reaction of the international community was one of "surprise mixed with admiration", over the manner in which New Delhi had reached out to the other tsunami-hit countries, even while being engaged in its own massive relief effort. The conference had, on the whole, "reinstated the United Nations as the key player" in relief efforts, he stressed.

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