Indonesia gears up for Asian-African Summit

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government is gearing up to make the Asian-African Summit later this month -- dubbed as one of the biggest meetings of this century -- a success in terms of both substance and administrative arrangements.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirajuda said that the government was completing the drafting of declarations and statements for the Summit.

Hassan said that the Summit was expected to boost cooperation among the nations of Asia and Africa as well as among countries of the southern hemisphere.

"We hope the outcomes of the Summit will make a contribution to the international community, and also lift the image of the country in global forums," he told a press conference after a Cabinet meeting late last week.

Hassan said the government was determined to ensure that the Summit would run "in an orderly manner, safely, and without any disturbances". He refused to give details of security arrangements for the Summit.

As many as 55 heads of state or government have confirmed their attendance at the Summit. Representatives from 105 countries, including 70 heads of state or government from Asia and Africa, have been invited to the Summit.

He explained that foreign affairs ministers from Asia and Africa have drafted a declaration on strategic partnership that will be signed by heads of state or government from both continents during the Summit, which will be held on April 22 and April 23 in Jakarta.

A statement of ministers will also be issued. It will consist of a plan of action for the partnership, and contain details of the declaration by the heads of state or government.

The Summit is also expected to issue a statement on a tsunami early warning system for countries around the Indian Ocean, Hassan said.

"Efforts to set up a tsunami early warning system (around the Indian Ocean) have been discussed. But political momentum is necessary for an agreement," he said.

Meanwhile, State Secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra announced that the administrative arrangements -- such as accommodation and infrastructure construction -- have been completed for the Summit.

"The delegations will stay in five-star hotels such as the Hilton, Mulia, Hyatt and JW Marriott," he said.

Yusril added that the government was considering giving a day off for students in Jakarta on April 21, which is the arrival date of the foreign delegations in Jakarta.

April 22, which falls on a Friday, is a public holiday, while April 23 falls on Saturday.

The delegates would arrive here either through the International Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Tangerang, or the Halim Perdanakusuma airbase in East Jakarta, he said.

In addition to the Asian and African states, delegations from 25 members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) on other continents will also attend the golden jubilee celebrations of the 1955 Asia-Africa Conference in Bandung, West Java, on April 24.

The Asia-Africa Conference was held in Bandung from April 18 to April 24, 1955, on the invitation of the Prime Ministers of Burma (now Myanmar), Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), India, Indonesia and Pakistan. Twenty-four countries, including five current members of ASEAN, took part.

The Conference inspired a global peace effort through a loose grouping that became known as the Non-Aligned Movement, as well as the Group of 77.

The outcome of the 1955 Summit, called the Ten Principles of Bandung, is touted by Indonesia as having served as a "code of conduct" governing relations between the two continents.

Encompassing an area that is almost half of the world, Asia and Africa are home to 4.6 billion people, or 73 percent of the world's population. The combined Gross Domestic Product of the two continents amounts to US$9.3 trillion.