Indonesia hopes ADB meeting to produce crisis solutions

The Jakarta Post | Mon, 02/16/2009 6:54 PM  

Indonesia hopes the 42nd annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to be held in Bali would bring benefit to Asia with solutions for dealing with current world financial crisis, Antara news agency reported. 

"The president hopes the results of the ADB meeting would be useful for the Asian region and would be part of the solution of the current crisis," acting coordinating minister for the economy Sri Mulyani said after accompanying the president at a meeting with ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda at the presidential office on Monday. 

Sri Mulyani, who is also a finance minister, said President Yudhoyono welcomed the bank’s decision to choose Indonesia as host for the bank’s 42nd annual meeting, considering it as the bank’s confidence in the country. 

"Moreover it also coincides with current global crisis so that the meeting could be concentrated on seeking a solution for the crisis," she said. 

The minister said the meeting that would be attended by more than 3,000 people would benefit Indonesia. "The meeting will put the country in a position of having a role to play not only in the domestic but also regional as well as global economic fields. 

The president, she said, also said that although this year the country would have two important programs to be carried namely in the economic field controlling and mitigating the impact of the global crisis on the country’s economy through all the policies that had been produced and in the political field implementing legislative and presidential elections the programs would not affect the holding of the ADB meeting. 

Kuroda would leave for Bali to check the preparations for the meeting. This would be the second time for the country to host the ADB meeting after the first in 1976 in Jakarta. 

"This will be the first international meeting after the G20 meeting and will be important with regard to overcoming the current global crisis and is hoped to become a forum for discussing issues in the context of Asian region whose economy will potentially grow positively," Mulyani said. 

According to the ADB president, she said, the meeting would discuss increasing the bank’s capital by 100 to 200 percent. "Of course, the hike will make the ADB able to carry out its function in supporting development agenda in the Asian region," she said. 

Mulyani said the ADB would be able to give up to US$13 billion in loans to the region particularly in the framework of minimizing the impact of the crisis if its capital was increased by 200 percent. 

The ADB president meanwhile hailed Indonesia’s efforts in handling the current crisis as correct in term of domestic policy including the monetary and fiscal decisions and provision of the fiscal stimulus. 

Kuroda thanked President Yudhoyono for his support to the meeting. He said he had so far been satisfied with all the preparations that had been made. 

He said 2009 would be a critical year for global economy. "Last December we predicted Asian economic growth would shrink to 5.8 percent this year down from the initial forecast of 6.9 percent," he said. He said Indonesia’s economic growth was predicted to slow down from 6.1 percent last year to five percent this year. 

It seems the prediction will be revised down again in the latest ADB economic report to be issued in March, he said. 

Particularly for Indonesia the ADB has so far loaned S$750 million in the form of program aid. The bank has also pledged US$1 billion in the form of stand-by loan which could be taken if the government faced a funding deficit. 

"A total of US$500 million could be reimbursed immediately while the rest could be reimbursed after confirmation from the board," he said.