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Preparations for IMF-World Bank meeting continue despite bombings: Minister
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Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati (Antara/Muhammad Adimaja)
T
he Finance Ministry is confident that the recent suicide bombings in Surabaya, East Java, will not affect the government’s preparations for the 2018 IMF-World Bank meeting, which is scheduled to be held in Bali in October.
“We are going ahead with our preparations,” Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said in Jakarta on Monday as reported by Antara.
The government, Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police are closely working together to ensure the resort island’s security, she added.
The former is also coordinating with the meeting’s organizing committee in Washington to assure its members that the event – which is expected to welcome 15,000 participants – will run smoothly.
“Terrorist attacks occur in many countries, who evaluate the incidents and the threat [they face], and how to mitigate the situation,” Sri Mulyani said.
She further assured that serious efforts made by Indonesia’s security forces to deal with the recent spate of terror attacks would reignite the international community’s confidence in the country, including investors.
Still, the minister expressed hopes that the incidents would not affect the wider perception of Indonesian security amid global economic uncertainty.
Simultaneous suicide bombings struck three churches across Surabaya on Sunday morning. Only a few hours later, a homemade bomb was prematurely detonated at a low-cost apartment in Sidoarjo, East Java.
On Monday, another bomb went off at the Surabaya Police headquarters. All three incidents are believed to have been committed by different families.
Twenty-five people were killed in the attacks, including 13 suicide bombers, according to the police. (bbn)
