Indonesia gears up for Asian-African Summit

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.