US aid to Indonesia unharmed by crisis (this is bizarre!)

Foreign Assistance ^ | Fri, July 06 2012 | Bagus BT Saragih

[mgist]

US aid to Indonesia unharmed by crisis (Indnosia is timy and recieved over $205 Million in 2011, which was as much as Afganistan recieved)

Bagus BT Saragih, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | World | Fri, July 06 2012, 6:58 AM

The US, through its biggest international development organization, has pledged that aid funds for Indonesia would be maintained at about the same level as in the past year, or around US$157.35 million annually.

Donald Steinberg, the deputy administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), said on Thursday that the assistance from his organization to Indonesia would be constant despite the financial crisis gripping the US.

“International development with countries like Indonesia is good for our country as well. This is not simply about contribution,” he told a roundtable discussion with Indonesian journalists held at the residence of Kirsten Bauer in Jakarta. Bauer is the newly appointed deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Jakarta.

Funds used by USAID projects in Indonesia from Oct. 1, 2011 to Sept. 30, 2012 reached $157.35 million. “I guarantee next year will be about the same,” Steinberg said, adding that Indonesia is one of the US’ highest priorities.

By 2015, USAID aims for 30 percent of its program in Indonesia to be conducted through Indonesian institutions, as well as civil society organizations and business communities.

Also on Thursday, USAID and Indonesia’s Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry launched the Marine Protected Area Governance Program.

US Ambassador to Indonesia Scot Marciel, who was present at the launching ceremony, said the program was the US’ $6 million contribution to help Indonesia establish and effectively manage 20 million hectares of ocean and coastal resources.

“The US and Indonesia have a strong partnership in protecting our planet’s resources. Through our previous work together, we have already supported approximately 7.5 million hectares of marine and coastal areas,” Marciel said.

Steinberg said the USAID supported the government’s Blue Initiative program. “We are investing in the program to help ensure that Indonesians have a sustainable source of food, income and business opportunities for the long-term,” he said.

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sharif Cicip Sutardjo said the US-supported program would be part of the government’s efforts to promote the use of fish resources. “This will improve the welfare of people living in coastal areas and at the same time, look out for the needs of future generations,” Sharif said in a press release.

USAID has been active in Indonesia since the 1960s. Its projects in Indonesia range from sustainable environment management, education, economic growth, health improvement and disaster management to the promotion of human rights, good governance and democracy.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

There's a theory that the US buys far more than $200 million in influence when it spends $200 million in foreign aid. I don't subscribe to this theory. Government officials and private citizens in nations like Indonesia are perfectly aware that the US has accumulated a national debt on a scale without any precedent in human history. They know that the US must borrow vast sums every year just to continue government operations.

Giving Indonesia a few hundred million we had to borrow is going to generate about as much prestige and influence as some broke sugar daddy getting a $100 cash advance on his last credit card to give to his gold-digger.

[PGalt]

DEFUND Indonesia. DISMANTLE USAID.