G-15 summit set to clash with House plenary session

G-15 summit set to clash with House plenary session

JAKARTA (JP): The government plans to intensively lobby the
House of Representatives to avoid a scheduling clash between the
House plenary session on the memorandum process and the planned
summit of the G-15 which Indonesia is set to host on May 30 and
May 31.

"For the sake of the national interest, we are trying to lobby
the House so that these two big events do not clash," Ministry of
Foreign Affairs Secretary-General Afrizal Effendy said on
Wednesday.

"The matter is now being discussed by high-level officials,"
he added.

Indonesia has committed itself to hosting the G-15 summit
which will be preceded by several days of meetings among senior
officials.

But the date of the summit coincides with the deadline set in
the second House censure against the President, and legislators
are also expected to convene at that time to discuss their next
moves.

The crucial House plenary session will decide whether they
will continue with the memorandum process and hold a People's
Consultative Assembly special session to appraise the president's
performance.

Afrizal stressed that preparations for the G-15 summit were
continuing as scheduled.

He claimed that thus far none of the members countries had
indicated any reluctance or concerns about coming to Indonesia
following the political developments in the country.

"All of the foreign ministers and trade ministers of the
member countries have confirmed their attendance and none of them
have requested any special security assurances from us," Afrizal
remarked.

He further said that so far eleven heads of state had
confirmed their attendance.

The G-15 comprises Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Egypt,
India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria,
Peru, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

Strengthening cooperation in the development of information
technology between member countries has been set as the main
agenda of the upcoming summit.

Since the government has canceled plans to import luxury cars
for the summit, most Cabinet ministers this week have begun using
their private vehicles.

The ministers' official fleet of Volvo S90 sedans has been
turned over to the State Secretariat to be used for the summit.

Later on Wednesday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab
told The Jakarta Post that the government was more than ready to
host the summit and the internal political developments will not
hamper the meeting.

"It is still on and it will be held as scheduled," Alwi
remarked.(dja)