WELCOMING REMARKS

Welcome to the website of Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) Representative Office in Jakarta! This site will provide you with a good start to get acquainted with the activities and roles that we undertake in Indonesia.

In these brief remarks, I would like to emphasize on the significance of Indonesia from our perspectives and the importance of our Bank's operations in this country.

After more than 60 years of Independence and over seven years following its “big-bang” decentralization, Indonesia is currently undergoing political, economic and social changes. Severely hit by the financial crisis, the country is now making efforts to return to the sustainable economic growth path through bold reforms.

Meanwhile, for reasons of geographic proximity and economic ties, JBIC as a Japanese governmental institution has focused on Asia. This part of the world, particularly in the ASEAN region including Indonesia, has become the Bank's priority over the years. Indonesia has been the major partner with cultural similarity and economic complementarity.

Our strategy is that we will place assistance to this country on economic and social infrastructure development, as we believe it will provide crucial underpinnings for sustainable growth and eradication of poverty in this country. In parallel with its financial assistance, the Bank will keep encouraging promotion of various reforms, by promoting policy dialogs with the government of Indonesia, as well as cooperation with other donors and paying due attention to Indonesia's decentralization. We will also focus on knowledge assistance to strengthen institutional capacity for implementing development projects under decentralization.

To keep you informed with current activities of the Bank, this website will be updated on a regular basis. For more information about JBIC's activities, you could visit our main website, http://www.jbic.go.jp Should there be further information you would like to inquire, I encourage you to contact our office.

Thank you for the visit and I hope you find it worth your while!

Ryutaro Koga
Chief Representative