ASEM meeting will go ahead despite row: Bot<\/p>\n
Adianto P. Simamora
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Visiting Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot expressed confidence
\nthat the upcoming Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) scheduled for
\nOctober in Hanoi would go ahead despite the controversy over the
\nparticipation of Myanmar.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a joint press conference after a bilateral meeting
\nwith his Indonesian counterpart Hassan Wirayuda in Jakarta on
\nThursday, Bot said the Hanoi summit would take place.<\/p>\n
"As the president of the European Union (EU), we intend to
\norganize together this Hanoi summit in a constructive manner,"
\nBot, who is the current president of the Council of Ministers of
\nthe European Union, said.<\/p>\n
"We are at the moment preparing that meeting, we are making a
\ncatalog of all the problems that have to be solved. We believe
\nthis meeting should take place in Hanoi," he said.<\/p>\n
Bot, who was born in Batavia (Jakarta), also met with
\nIndonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Hassan also expressed optimism the ASEM summit would take
\nplace as scheduled.<\/p>\n
"I believe it is in the strong interest of both the Asian side
\nas well as the European side that we should be able to settle the
\nissues surrounding the upcoming ASEM summit, in particular, the
\nquestions of participation," he said.<\/p>\n
Asked how confident he was the summit would be held, Hassan
\nsaid: "I believe it will happen, but let's see on what level. Our
\nbargaining position is quite high."<\/p>\n
Myanmar's partners in the Association of Southeast Asian
\nNations (ASEAN) have insisted that if the EU wants to include its
\n10 new states in the summit, Myanmar, along with Cambodia and
\nLaos, must also be represented.<\/p>\n
But EU members have pressed hard for Yangon to be kept out of
\nthe six-year-old forum because of the junta's repression of
\npolitical opponents, in particular the house arrest of Aung San
\nSuu Kyi.<\/p>\n
The thorny issue of Myanmar's participation in the Hanoi
\nsummit has posed a challenge to Dutch diplomacy since its took
\nover the EU presidency on July 1, 2004.<\/p>\n
The Netherlands, the former colonial master of Indonesia, sent
\nformer foreign minister Van den Broek to Asia last month on
\nbehalf of the EU to resolve the diplomatic ruckus over Myanmar's
\nparticipation in the ASEM summit.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, during the bilateral talks here, both Hassan and
\nBot agreed to intensify efforts to combat terrorism.<\/p>\n
"Minister Bot has pledged to provide 5 million euros for the
\ncooperation on combating terrorism, particularly activities to be
\ncarried out by the Jakarta Center for Law Enforcement
\nCooperation," Hassan said.<\/p>\n
The Netherlands is also expected to dispatch Tom Groten Heis,
\nan expert on counterterrorism, to the Jakarta center to train
\nIndonesian officers.<\/p>\n
The two countries also plan to organize a seminar on the
\nempowerment of moderate Islam, which Bot said was an important
\npart of fighting terrorism.<\/p>\n
"We have explored how to strengthen the modern Islamic
\nboarding school system, among other things perhaps enriching
\neducation by providing vocational training for students," Hassan
\nsaid.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asem-meeting-will-go-ahead-despite-row-bot-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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