East Timor will need up to $300 million
over the next three years to rebuild itself, according to the estimates
released by the World Bank on the eve of a fundraising conference in Tokyo
aimed to raise funds for the battered territory.
The World Bank says that East Timor
will need $86 million in immediate humanitarian assistance and emergency
relief and $76 million for reconstruction and development. Another $15
million will be required for external financing of the budget for the United
Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), which is overseeing
the territory's move to independence.
More than 100 officials from 29 countries are expected to attend the two-day donor meeting, which begins tomorrow and is co-hosted by the UN and the World Bank.
On Friday, the head of UNTAET, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and East Timorese independence leader Xanana Gusmao are scheduled to deliver statements to the conference on behalf of the UN-East Timor delegation.