Japan’s Kaifu Pledges Immediate Aid and Credits to Poland
Japan pledged $190 million to Poland in immediate aid and credits Sunday and said it earmarked another $850 million to support economic reform and investment in the future.
But visiting Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu, who arrived Sunday for a two-day visit, told Polish leaders that the $850 million was to be negotiated and was conditional on the participation and approval of the World Bank on how the money was to be spent.
If the investment package is agreed upon, it will amount to the biggest chunk of foreign financial assistance yet offered the newly elected and Solidarity-led Polish coalition government.
Foreign Ministry press spokesman Wladyslaw Klaczynski gave details of talks held Sunday between teams headed by Kaifu and his Polish counterpart, Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki.
Klaczynski said Japan gave unconditional food aid and support for managerial training amounting to $40 million and $150 million in credit support for the continuing process of stablizing the Polish zloty and making it convertible with other world currencies.
Kaifu arrived from Rome on the seventh day of a 10-day tour of Europe.
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