Japan offers Indonesia US$473 million loan to fight COVID-19
21 October, 2020
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Tuesday (Oct 20) that his country provides 50 billion yen (US$473 million) in low-interest loans to Indonesia to aid its fight against COVID-19.
The offer was designed to Indonesian President Joko Widodo during talks held at the presidential palace in Bogor, near Jakarta, reported Kyodo News.
The low-interest loans will be utilized for Indonesia's measures against natural disasters, as well as the almost 32 billion yen in loans Japan gave in February this season.
This is designed to free up Indonesian resources to be utilized to fight COVID-19. The Southeast Asian nation has seen the worst outbreak in your community with an increase of than 360,000 confirmed infections and a lot more than 12,000 related deaths.
Suga, who is on the next leg of his first overseas trip since taking office, said he also agreed with Widodo to get started on discussions on resuming business travel between their countries and to hold security talks between their defence and foreign ministers at an early on date.
JAPAN prime minister expressed his backing for Southeast Asian efforts toward obtaining peace in the South China Sea, while promoting Japan's “free and open Indo-Pacific” concept of regional cooperation in countering China.
Southeast Asia was chosen for his first trip since succeeding Shinzo Abe as prime minister last month so as to demonstrate the region’s importance to Japan.
After holding talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Suga said Southeast Parts of asia are key to pursuing Japan's “free and open Indo-Pacific,” or FOIP, and that he told Widodo that “Japan is focused on adding to the peace and prosperity in your community”.
“I fully support the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, which Indonesia initiated, as it has a large amount of fundamental commonalities with Japan's free and open Indo-Pacific," he said.
Widodo welcomed Japan’s support for Southeast Asian nations and said that “the spirit of inclusive cooperation must also be promoted in the context of Indo-Pacific cooperation as reflected in the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific".
"I also underlined my hope that the South China Sea can continue being a sea of peace and stability,” he said.
Suga arrived in Jakarta on Tuesday afternoon from Hanoi, where he met along with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Monday.
On Wednesday, Suga is scheduled to meet up people related to Japanese companies and lay a wreath at the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery before returning to Tokyo.
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