Yudhoyono meets WB President on StAR Initiative

UN Headquarters (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at a meeting with World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick here on Tuesday agreed that World Bank and United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (UNDOC) personal will visit Indonesia to further develop technical assistance under the Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) Initiative.

The meeting took place in the UN Headquarters on the sidelines of the United Nations` 62nd General Assembly, said a joint statement issued after the meeting.

However, the joint statement did not specifically mention former president Soeharto who was earlier reported to be one of 10 former leaders likely to be affected by the initiative.

Soeharto was on top of a list of former world leaders who allegedly stole huge amounts of state assets in the past few decades. The list was issued by the United Nations and the World Bank on September 17, together with the launching of the StAR Initiative.

In a table on "funds allegedly stolen from nine countries" that appeared in a guidebook on StAR, Soeharto was said to have stolen state funds amounting to US$15 billion - US$35 billion.

Yudhoyono and Zoellick said in their joint statement the StAR Initiative was a unique and innovative program.

According to the two, the program would enable both developing and developed nations to benefit from efforts to implement the United Nations Convention Against Corruption/UNCAC issued in 2003.

"Indonesia has expressed its wish to participate in the initiative to strengthen its capability in implementing the 5th Article of the UNCAC on asset recovery, particularly in tracing, freezing and returning the assets under its jurisdiction," the statement said.

Yudhoyono and Zoellick also urged developed nations to make all necessary efforts to ensure that the world`s financial centers would not become placed for keeping funds gained through corrupt practices in developing nations.

In the statement, Indonesia was acknowledged as having made significant efforts to fight corruption.

Indonesia, one of the signatories to the UNCAC 2003, will host the 2nd meeting of UNCAC in Bali on January 28 - February 1 next year.