Press Release: Statement by IMF Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato at the Conclusion of his Visit to Indonesia

January 24, 2007

Press Release No. 07/11

Mr. Rodrigo de Rato, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement today in Jakarta at the conclusion of his visit:

"I have come to Indonesia as part of a three-nation visit to Asia that includes Japan and China. These visits are an opportunity to exchange views with political and economic leaders in the region about the outlook for the world economy, and to discuss changes in the global economy and the role of the IMF. I thank President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his economic team, and the Indonesian people, for their hospitality. In addition to the President, I had the honor to meet Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Boediono, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, and Bank Indonesia Governor Burhanuddin Abdullah, as well as parliamentarians and members of academia and the private sector. My visit to Indonesia also enabled me to tour the Remaja Masa Depan Foundation's school and orphanage in Jakarta to see first hand the grass roots efforts underway to address some of the most important and basic social needs of the Indonesian people.

"This is my second visit to Indonesia as Managing Director. My first visit immediately followed the sad and unfortunate events in Aceh in 2005. The situation now is quite different, and significantly more optimistic. During my visit to Indonesia, the President and his economic team offered me insights into their views about global economic developments and IMF reform, and we shared our views on the current outlook for the regional and global economies. Indonesia plays an important role in the IMF. I very much appreciated the opportunity to discuss progress in implementing the Fund's Medium-Term Strategy, and I received excellent feedback from the authorities, which we will seek to incorporate as we proceed with the ongoing reforms in the IMF. Our reform strategy aims at enabling the Fund to better serve its members and at enhancing governance of the institution by providing Asian countries, and emerging market economies in general, with a greater voice at the Fund.

"I explained to the authorities how the Fund is working towards reducing global imbalances through the new multilateral consultations that are underway with major economies. We also discussed progress achieved in designing a new instrument for crisis prevention that can be offered to emerging market economies. I greatly value the dialogue with the authorities and their thoughtful input will help us position the IMF to effectively serve its members in the 21st century.

"The President and his team took the opportunity to describe to me their economic objectives and policy agenda. They are impressive, and I fully support the agenda, especially the efforts to ensure that improvements in macroeconomic stability work their way into tangible progress in the real sector, in order to reduce high levels of unemployment and poverty. Despite the remaining challenges for Indonesia, it is heartening to see that growth is picking up, which is a clear indication of the authorities' skillful economic management.

"Prospects for further progress in 2007 are good. As the authorities are aware, it will be important to press ahead with the reform agenda, in order to ensure that the pick up in growth is sustained, and that Indonesia is well-positioned to benefit from buoyant global and regional economic conditions. We discussed the economic challenges, and I am encouraged in particular by the authorities' focus on promoting investment. Implementation of reforms to improve the investment climate, as well as an enhancement of infrastructure, will be key to sustaining high growth in the future.

"I would like to welcome again Indonesia's early repayment of all outstanding obligations to the Fund last October. We look forward to a continued close relationship and broad dialogue with the Indonesian authorities on both regional and domestic economic developments and policy issues."

IMF EXTERNAL RELATIONS DEPARTMENT

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