Indonesia, U.S. agree on infrastructure finance agreement

JAKARTA, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Indonesia has signed an agreement with the United States to strengthen infrastructure finacing through private sector investment, Indonesia's Finance Ministry and the U.S. Treasury Department said on Friday.

U.S Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin signed the agreement with Indonesia's Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati remotely on Friday, according to a statement posted on the U.S. Treasury Department's website.

Rahayu Puspasari, spokeswoman for Indonesia's Finance Ministry, said in a separate statement that the agreement would bolster the development of capital markets and financial instruments to "facilitate and reduce the barriers to private sector investment in infrastructure."

Puspasari added that the agreement would help improve asset recycling capacity, impact assessment for the financing already given, and credit enhancement.

"The engagement supports the broader U.S. Government Indo-Pacific Strategy by complementing ongoing efforts under the Enhancing Development and Growth through Energy (Asia EDGE) and the Infrastructure Transaction and Assistance Network (ITAN)," said the U.S. Treasury Department.

(Reporting by Tabita Diela and Stanley Widianto; Editing by Michael Perry)

((Widianto.Stanley@thomsonreuters.com;))

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