Soeharto and entourage head for Turkey summit<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto and his entourage leave today
\nfor Istanbul to attend the first summit of eight predominantly
\nIslamic developing countries, known as the D-8.<\/p>\n
The entourage includes Minister\/State Secretary Moerdiono,
\nMinister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas, ambassador-at-large Nana
\nSutresna and senior economist Widjojo Nitisastro. The President's
\nsecond daughter, Siti Hediyati Prabowo, is also expected to
\naccompany him.<\/p>\n
The summit will go ahead despite the crisis affecting the
\ncoalition government of Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan
\nafter its prolonged tension with the military.<\/p>\n
"We have been assured that the coalition government will not
\nfall, at least during the summit," a senior State Palace official
\nsaid Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The summit, to be chaired by Turkish President Sulayman
\nDemirel, will take place at Ciragam Palace.<\/p>\n
The D-8 groups Indonesia and Malaysia representing East Asia;
\nBangladesh and Pakistan representing South Asia; Turkey and Iran
\nrepresenting the Middle East; and Egypt and Nigeria representing
\nAfrica.<\/p>\n
Necmettin Erbakan proposed the summit in a meeting with
\nSoeharto in Jakarta, last August.<\/p>\n
D-8 membership is open to countries with more than 40 million
\npeople. Malaysia is an exception because it is regarded as a
\nprominent developing country.<\/p>\n
Moerdiono said last week: "The president will emphasize the
\nimportance of poverty alleviation programs because poverty is the
\nmost fundamental problem facing developing countries."<\/p>\n
At the summit, Soeharto is expected to propose the
\nestablishment of fertilizer plants, production of cheap housing
\nmaterials and other projects.<\/p>\n
In his speech at the World Food Summit last November in Rome,
\nSoeharto proposed joint efforts to build fertilizer plants, which
\nuse natural gas that is being burned into waste at many gas
\nfields.<\/p>\n
He said cheap fertilizer would help farmers in poor countries
\nboost rice production.<\/p>\n
After signing the summit declaration, Soeharto and the other
\ndelegation heads will hold a joint press conference.<\/p>\n
"The president will arrive back in Jakarta on June 16,"
\nMoerdiono said. (06)<\/p>",
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