Indonesia Ready to Sign Forest Conservation Deal

UNCLAS JAKARTA 000992 SIPDIS DEPT FOR OES, EAP USAID FOR ANE, EGAT TREASURY FOR KBERG E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV EAGR KGHG ECON PGOV ID SUBJECT: Indonesia Ready to Sign Forest Conservation Deal ¶1. The Government of Indonesia (GOI) is prepared to sign the Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA) agreements and proposes a signing date of June 29. Mahendra Siregar, Deputy Minister for International Economic and Financial Cooperation, confirmed this at a GOI interagency meeting on June 10. The Embassy and heads of Conservation International-Indonesia and the Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation (KEHATI),both of which are Parties to the TFCA agreements, were also invited to the meeting. Siregar urged all Parties to expedite approval of the final draft agreements before the week of June 29. He also asked the Minister of Forestry to consider hosting the signing ceremony in Jakarta on/around June 29, if all Parties concur. ¶2. Action request: Post urges Treasury and the USG interagency team to complete their review and commit to the above signing date before this window of opportunity closes. Post asks for a response as soon as possible on whether we can commit to this date and under what conditions (e.g., venue and signatories). NORTH