The loan project in yen is aimed at improving the integrated disaster mitigation system in Indonesia by encouraging the improvement of policy and system by the relevant ministries
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia and Japan signed an exchange of notes concerning loans worth 31.8 billion yen (3.9 trillion rupiahs) to improve the management capacity of Indonesia in mitigating natural disasters.

Director of Asia Pacific Affairs of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry Santo Darmosumarto and Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Masafumi Ishii signed the exchange of notes, here, on Friday.

"The loan project in yen is aimed at improving the integrated disaster mitigation system in Indonesia by encouraging the improvement of policy and system by the relevant ministries," Economic Counselor of the Japanese Embassy in Jakarta Shimizu Kazuhiko said.

The loan channeled through the Disaster Resilience Enhancement and Management (DREAM) Program will be payable in 15 years with an interest rate of 0.4 percent.

Japan disbursed the loan in stages in 2019, 2020 and 2021. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Indonesian Finance Ministry will follow up on the exchange of notes after being signed.

The DREAM Program will focus on four areas of activities agreed upon by the Japanese government and the Indonesian National Development Planning Agency) as an executing agency in Indonesia.

The four areas of cooperation are first, strengthening the government's capacity in managing disaster risks by prioritizing disaster mitigation set forth in the Medium-Term National Development Plan 2020-2024.

The second and third are improving the understanding of disaster risks including the evaluation of risks, the use of danger threat map, the improvement of early warning system, and the addition of investment to reduce natural disaster risks.

The fourth is encouraging the implementation of "build back better (BBB)" concept for post-disaster recovery technically carried out in Central Sulawesi Province after the Palu tsunami for the January 2019-December 2021 period.

Translator: Suwanti/Suharto
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2020