ECONOMIC NEWS TEMPLATE

JAKARTA (JP): The Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have expressed satisfaction over the progress made in implementing Indonesia's macroeconomic policies.

The donor countries are satisfied with the progress in Indonesia's macroeconomic policies, expert member of staff at the Office of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Mahendra Siregar said on Thursday, as quoted by Antara.

"They also hoped that Indonesia would be able to sustain the progress in selling assets controlled by the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) to support the state budget," Mahendra quoted World Bank representative Mark Baird as saying.

He noted that the good performance of the economy would enable the government to discuss long-term problems.

"It is time to shift the attention to poverty alleviation and boost efforts to manage thoroughly all legal cases," he added.

Mahendra said the CGI and the Indonesian government met on Wednesday to discuss progress in the nation's development following their last meeting, which was held here in November.

The meeting was also aimed at making an inventory and to plan further steps, he said, adding that another meeting would be held later this year.

Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti said, "The evaluation has forced us to become disciplined and gave us a chance to exchange views, explain our policies and listen to their aspirations."

Meanwhile, IMF representative, David Nellor, said the country's macroeconomic stability stood on good foundations.