Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The United States and Australia have agreed to swap loans to Indonesia with other programs through a debt-swap scheme, an official at the chief economic minister's office said.
"The United States and Australia have agreed to implement debt-swap programs after Germany and Italy made debt-swap commitments to Indonesia," Mahendra Siregar, deputy for international affairs to the coordinating minister for economic affairs, said here on Friday.
He said the two countries had previously provided their debt-swap commitments for Indonesia. One was still under negotiation and the other one about to enter a negotiation process.
Siregar said the US had promised to use US$19.6 million worth of loans to Indonesia in a debt-swap program for financing tropical forest conservation in Indonesia.
In the meantime, Australia had also promised a debt-swap in the public health field to finance the handling of HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in Indonesia.
"The value of the debt-swap in the public health field is US$75 million. I hope negotiations on this scheme can be started soon," he said.
He said his office would be receiving an Australian delegation to discuss the matter next week.
Siregar said Germany had provided Indonesia with a debt-swap scheme in the public health field worth 143.56 million euro. There was also a debt-swap to nature scheme worth 20 million euro which was still under negotiation.
Italy's commitment to debt-swap was signed on March 9, 2005 and was in force until 2010. The commitment had the potential to write off Indonesia's debts worth US$24.2 million and 5.7 million euro.
In 2007, Italy and Indonesia formally agreed to the financing of projects in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province where Italy wrote off 1.43 million euro and US$5.03 million.
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