Gus Dur to embark on overseas visit next month<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid will visit the
\nUnited States, Europe, Australia and New Zealand early next
\nmonth, a presidential aide said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The President's secretary Djoko Moeljono said Wahid will first
\ntravel to New York to attend the UN Millennium Summit, which is
\nexpected to draw heads of state from around the world to discuss
\nthe future of the world body.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman will later travel to Canada and Europe. Djoko did
\nnot say which countries in Europe the President will stop or what
\nwas the purpose of the trip. He also did not give exact dates for
\nthe journey.<\/p>\n
Gus Dur, as the President is popularly called, will then fly
\nto Australia for a long-awaited state visit and then onto New
\nZealand, Djoko said.<\/p>\n
Jakarta has had a rocky relationship with both countries since
\nthey took leading roles in last year's international military
\nintervention in East Timor.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman, who has visited more than 30 countries since
\ntaking office in October last year, has been criticized by
\nlegislators for putting global issues ahead of unsolved domestic
\nproblems.<\/p>\n
The House of Representatives warned Abdurrahman in June to put
\nfuture overseas trips on hold because he had used up most of his
\nannual travel allowance.<\/p>\n
The House Commission I for security and political affairs said
\nthe President had used Rp 52.72 billion (US$5.85 million) --
\naround 98.64 percent -- of his state-allocated travel budget.<\/p>\n
In June, Abdurrahman visited Tokyo, New York, Paris, Teheran,
\nIslamabad, Bahrain, Oman and Cairo in a bid to shore-up support
\nfor his administration.<\/p>\n
Djoko said that Abdurrahman's overseas trips have become so
\nfrequent that the government has arranged a new deal with the
\nnational airline, Garuda Indonesia, for future travel.<\/p>\n
He said the deal would ensure a Garuda jet was available
\nwhenever the President wanted to go anywhere. (byg)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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