Increased NORAD support to Indonesia in 1996?
By Tarjei Leer-Salvesen
Norwatch
Last month the newspaper Klassekampen wrote about the company Mjellem & Karlsen, which in 1996 had received an advance commitment for the sum of NOK 62 million through NORAD’s industrial and commercial facilities and environmental allocation for the building of a research vessel for Indonesia. According to Hans Jacob Frydenlund, senior information officer at the Secretariat of the Minister of Development Cooperation, any further disbursements will not take into consideration the political development in Indonesia.
“If the conditions - mainly of contractual and technical nature - for receiving the assistance are met, the funds will be paid out,” says Frydenlund. NORAD has received four more applications for Indonesia from Norwegian companies through the industrial and commercial facilities. NORAD says the nature of these projects and what companies have applied is information exempt from public disclosure. If these applications, totaling NOK 70 million, are approved, more than NOK 130 million from Norwegian development funds will be given this year to companies establishing businesses in Indonesia, an increase of more than 30% compared with 1995.
“This is a hypothetical question, and given today’s situation, the applications will be subjected to close scrutiny. We will first consider the application and then decide the amount. Indonesia is no priority area for Norwegian development assistance,” Frydenlund says. But he does point to the fact that NORAD does not control everything, when funds are allocated through the industrial and commercial facilities. The applicants reflect which areas are interesting. And the area is clearly important for Norwegian industry.
Norwatch Newsletter 7/96