REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, NUSA DUA -- Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde will be visiting the island of Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara Province during her stay in Indonesia. Lagarde is scheduled to attend the Annual Meeting of the IMF and World Bank Group in Nusa Dua, Bali, from October 8 to 14.
He her visit to Lombok will be carried out on the sidelines of the activities.
"I will be visiting Lombok along with Minister Luhut Binsar Panjaitan. We will be making donations," she said after planting coral reefs in the Nusa Dua beach in Badung Sub-district on Sunday.
She stated that her visit to Indonesia is not just to attend the annual meeting, but also is to make social contribution to disaster affected areas, including Lombok and Central Sulawesi.
Previously, she continued, Secretary General of the IMF Jianhai Lin had visited Palu after it was struck by earthquake and tsunami, leaving more than 1,500 people dead.
Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Panjaitan stated, during a visit to Lombok, Christine Lagarde is scheduled to hand aids.
However, he hoped the people will not focus on the amount she is giving. Instead, the people should highlight the attention given by the top IMF official to the victims of Lombok earthquake.
"We should perceive Indonesia as a big nation and we have to be able to respect and appreciate their contribution," said Minister Luhut, who is also a key figure of the National Committee for the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings.
After their visit to Lombok, Panjaitan and Lagarde will get back to Nusa Dua, Bali, to attend the largest monetary and economic meeting of the year.
The IMF and World Bank group annual meeting will take place from October 8 to 14 in the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center as its main venue.
Around 34,000 participants coming from 189 countries are scheduled to attend the meeting. Twenty three of them are state leaders, including those of 10 ASEAN member countries.