JAKARTA, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia says it will continue withholding its bird flu virus samples from foreign laboratories pending a new global mechanism for virus sharing that has better terms for developing countries, local press said Saturday.

    Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari asserted the stance Friday after she met senior World Health Organization officials, including acting assistant director general for communicable diseases David Heyman, acting director for the Global Influenza Program Keiji Fukuda and WHO representative to Indonesia George Peterson.

    "Indonesia will insist on a material transfer agreement before sending the Indonesian strain of bird flu virus to foreign laboratories to prevent them from being used for commercial purposes," Siti was quoted by English daily The Jakarta Post as saying.

    "We agree to send the virus to the WHO with new conditions or mechanisms approved by both parties as well as by other developing countries. Until then, we won't share the samples."

    Siti said the WHO had often been in favor of capital owners.

    "The organization sometimes forgets the good of the people in general and we want to change that," she said.

    Indonesia and several developing countries from Asia Pacific regions will meet in March to discuss a more equitable mechanism for virus sharing and access to vaccine production.

    "Indonesia's leadership alerted the international community to the needs of developing countries to benefit from sharing virus samples, including access to quality pandemic vaccines at affordable prices," Heyman said after the meeting.

    He also expressed support for Indonesia's decision to appoint Swiss-based Baxter Healthcare SA to develop human vaccines with the Indonesian strain, which was considered the strongest strain and responsible for killing 64 of 84 infected people in the country.