14th Consultative Group Meeting on Indonesia: Opening Statement by Jemal-ud-din Kassum, World Bank Vice President

by 
Jemal-ud-din Kassum
Vice President, East Asia and Pacific
The World Bank Group
January 20, 2005, Jakarta, Indonesia

 

Thanks, Chairman, and thanks for allowing me some personal reflections at this historic moment in the first Indonesian-led CGI, an occasion which we at the World Bank, I personally, and I’m sure all the participants here enthusiastically welcome.

This is my fifth CG meeting for Indonesia. My first was under the administration of Gus Dur in Tokyo; and I can assure you that the atmosphere now is very, very different. Never have I been to such a CG meeting for Indonesia where there have been such strong emotions and such excitement about the future.

The President set the tone so powerfully and eloquently yesterday in his opening remarks at the Palace, showing that an Indonesian-led CGI has the commitment of this Government at the highest level.

At the Pre-CGI meeting, which went so well yesterday, we all felt so many powerful emotions:

Indescribable sadness – for the tragic loss of life and the millions affected and indeed traumatized by this tsunami disaster, the worst in living memory.

I will never forget the scenes of devastation we saw on an aerial flight over Meulaboh or my meeting in Banda Aceh with one of the facilitators from the Government’s KDP program who was clutching a handwritten list of 52 of his family members that perished in the disaster.

At the same time, there is clearly tremendous hope for the future:

Hope for a Government team that, before its 100th day in office, has shown remarkable fortitude and a decisive and comprehensive response in the face of this horrific disaster.

Within less than 2 weeks of the disaster, the President gathered together leaders from around the world for the ASEAN Leaders Summit for an unprecedented demonstration of the world’s united response to this tragedy and willingness to contribute funds for the affected communities.

And now less than a month after the tsunami, Minister Sri Mulyani was already so well prepared to give us a comprehensive damage and loss assessment and a very thoughtful and impressive framework for a recovery strategy. Our team here in Jakarta together with staff from so many of the organizations and countries represented here today worked day and night with Bappenas staff to get this done. I think all the teams involved deserve our greatest thanks and respect. It was an exemplary effort of the best kind: world class professionals coming together under government leadership, and I look forward to this same level and spirit of coordination and partnership as Aceh moves into the recovery and reconstruction phase.

Most importantly, my hope is rooted in this new Government’s commitment to building and sustaining a new momentum for reform, in the areas so critical to Indonesia’s development: governance and anti-corruption, the investment climate, and growth for a just and equitable society.

I saw myself this dedication and commitment at the Infrastructure Summit just two days ago, where the Government in collaboration with KADIN, organized a major event bringing together the public and private sector to talk frankly about the opportunities and the problems of investing in Indonesia’s huge infrastructure needs and to set out a clear, monitorable set of reforms going forward. I have never seen such cohesion, consistency and decisiveness in so many members of a cabinet team.

I am also deeply impressed by this Government’s emphasis on governance and anti-corruption, a theme that has dominated all of the previous CGIs that I have attended.

On poverty reduction, the decision of this Government to integrate the PRSP into the Government’s own medium term economic framework is also a major step forward in bringing a poverty focus to all of the Government’s work.

And all this as the Government was in the midst of coping with the aftereffects of such a terrible disaster.

It’s all truly remarkable and encouraging: a great tribute to the quality of this country’s new leadership.

Furthermore, this Indonesian led CGI today reflects a new and resurgent confidence not only by the Government, but by the Indonesian people. And, as we have seen in the response to the Aceh disaster, this confidence does not mean pushing away the donors, but means engaging in a deeper and more substantive partnership with the donor community.

A partnership based on a clear set of plans and priorities of where the Government wants to go (the 100 days plan, the medium term plan, the emerging anti-corruption strategy) and an understanding of the best ways the donors can assist.

But it is also a partnership based on closer relationships. I know that my staff and the staff of many other key donors have found a new level of interaction and cooperation with this new Government team and that bodes well for our work together in the years ahead.

Frankly there could not be a better time to hand over the gavel of the CGI to the Indonesian Government.

And I can think of no better Government team to pass on this gavel to.

On a really personal note, I’m also delighted that such good and capable friends are in charge: I have known Ichal and Jusuf for far longer than I have been associated with the CGI, and I have come to know Ani just as well in recent years.

I hope you will all join me in welcoming this Indonesian-led CGI and thanking the Government for organizing what has already proven to be a productive, a moving, and interesting forum. Thank you.