APEC meeting will likely be in Bogor: Moerdiono

JAKARTA (JP): The hill station of Bogor in West Java, a one- hour's drive from the capital on a good day, will likely serve as the venue for the second leadership meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum scheduled for this November.

"It is almost certain that the meeting will be held at the presidential palace in Bogor," Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono told reporters following a meeting with President Soeharto here on Saturday.

Moerdiono and Bintoro Tjokroamidjojo, the chief of the organizing committee for the APEC meet, met with the President to discuss preparations for both the organization's leadership and ministerial meetings.

Moerdiono said the heads of government attending the informal summit will stay in Jakarta, while the meetings will be held in Bogor, some 65 kilometers south of the capital.

"As we are still in the preparation stages, a change in the location of the leadership meeting is still possible," he said, adding that Bali looms as an alternative.

However, he said, the timetable for the meeting sessions has not yet been fixed.

The minister said the leadership meeting will remain informal, in the spirit of the one last November on Blake Island off Seattle, the United States.

"The leadership meeting will be attended only by heads of government, who will be accompanied by their interpreters only," he said, adding that, at least, 13 leaders of the 17-member organization, including U.S. President Bill Clinton, are expected to attend the event.

At least 1,500 foreign correspondents will be hand to cover the meeting, he said.

Moerdiono did not elaborate on the specifics of the organization's senior official and ministerial meetings, which are usually held before the summit.

APEC groups six ASEAN members -- Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand -- and Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Mexico, Taiwan, China, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Canada.(hen)