Indonesia likely to be a dominant issue at ASEM<\/p>\n
By K. Basrie<\/p>\n
LONDON (JP): Indonesia's economic crisis will be a major topic
\nat the 2nd Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) which begins here tomorrow,
\na British foreign office spokesman has said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia \"will be a dominant issue\" in the April 2 to April 4
\nASEM 2 talks, M.H.P. Hill, head of the Southeast Asia Department,
\ntold The Jakarta Post in his office.<\/p>\n
Hill said, however, that so far there had been no sign of
\nwhether the leaders would come up with a financial bailout for
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
\"There might be informal bilateral meetings with the
\nIndonesian representative during the ASEM meeting,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Vice President B.J. Habibie is representing Indonesia at the
\nsummit.<\/p>\n
Hill said Britain believed that Indonesia would be able to
\novercome the crisis if it carried out the reforms agreed upon
\nwith the International Monetary Fund (IMF).<\/p>\n
Indonesia is currently negotiating with the IMF for the
\ndisbursement of the next US$3 billion tranche of the $43 billion
\nloan the world lending agency raised for Indonesia last November.<\/p>\n
Disbursement of the second $3 billion was stalled by
\nIndonesia's reluctance to implement some of the reforms agreed to
\nwith the IMF in January.<\/p>\n
The two-day ASEM 2 talks will take place at the Queen
\nElizabeth II Conference Centre in the Westminster area. Leaders
\nand senior officials from European and Asian countries are
\nscheduled to attend the meeting.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Ambassador to Britain Rahardjo Jamtomo told
\nvisiting Indonesian reporters last week that Habibie had been
\nslated to hold bilateral meetings with a number of leaders.<\/p>\n
Rahardjo said Indonesia hoped to use the occasion to gain
\ngreater understanding from European countries about the way it
\nhad been dealing with the economic crisis.<\/p>\n
He cited in particular the impacts that the tough IMF reform
\npackage would have on the people.<\/p>\n
Hill said British investors would continue to be involved with
\nIndonesia in spite of the crisis, noting that Britain ranked
\nsecond only after Japan as the largest source of foreign
\ninvestment in Indonesia's non-oil sector.<\/p>\n
\"Our major companies in Indonesia still have strong confidence
\nabout the country's future,\" Hill said, noting that only a few
\nsmall-scale British firms had left Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Other Asian leaders who will make their debut at the meeting
\nare newly appointed Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji and South
\nKorean President Kim Dae-jung, who officially assumed power in
\nFebruary. Both Zu and Kim left their countries yesterday,
\naccording to news reports.<\/p>\n
On the sidelines of ASEM, Zhu will attend a China-European
\nUnion summit, the first in a planned regular series intended to
\nboost relations between China and European countries long
\nbedeviled by arguments over human rights, Reuters reported
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
The mood surrounding Zhu's trip has been transformed by an EU
\ndecision to abandon long-running efforts to censor Beijing at the
\nlatest UN Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva.<\/p>\n
Kim, accompanied by his wife Lee Hee-ho and foreign minister
\nPark Chung-soo, has said his main task at the ASEM will be to
\nseek foreign support to help South Korea out of its crippling
\nfinancial crisis.<\/p>\n
\"I will express our will to take advantage of the current
\nsituation to make a leap forward and start anew through
\nliberalization and reform,\" Kim said in a brief departure
\nstatement.<\/p>\n
ASEM will bring together leaders of 15 EU countries and 10
\nAsian nations.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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