World Bank Group Channels Billions for Indonesia

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim pledged up to US$11 billion in the next three to four years to finance Indonesia’s development programs.

During his first visit to Indonesia as World Bank Group president, Yong Kim offered the institution's support during a meeting with President Joko Widodo on Wednesday, May 20, 2015.

"The World Bank Group is committed to building strong and successful partnership we have had with Indonesia for more than six decades," said Yong Kim. "We plan to deliver one of our largest financial commitments in the world to Indonesia from the Jakarta office, sharing with Indonesia international knowledge and technical expertise in sectors ranging from energy, health, education, maritime economy, to the delivery of services at the local level," he added.

Yong Kim also applauded Indonesia's economic growth, which sits at an average of six percent over the past 10 years. In addition, Yong Kim also praised the country's effort to reduce poverty rate by just 15 years, to the current level of 11.3 percent.

Of the proposed US$11 billion, US$8 billion will be chanelled from the World Bank (or IBRD, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development), while the remaining US$3 billion will be provided by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).

MAHINDA ARKYASA