Indonesia invited to Macau handover

Indonesia invited to Macau handover

LISBON (Antara): Indonesia and the Vatican will become invited
as special guests to a ceremony marking the transfer of Macao
from Portugal to China on Dec. 20.

"In a meeting with Macao authority, China has proposed for the
appointment of Indonesia as a special guest. On the other hand,
Portugal has reportedly invited the Vatican," Portugal's Governor
General in Macao, Vasco Rocha Vieira, was quoted by the European
Union Press Network in Brussels as saying on Saturday.

The governments of China and Portugal since Thursday conducted
marathon discussion on the preparation of the transfer of Macao's
status.

The two countries eventually concluded that Indonesia and the
Vatican would be appointed as special guests as a symbol of world
friendship.

The report said China invited Indonesia to help further
smoothen the normalization of diplomatic ties between Jakarta and
Lisbon which has been cut since Dec. 7, 1975.

Indonesia's presence also coincided with the results of a
meeting between Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Gama and his
Indonesian counterpart Alwi Shihab in New York on Nov. 13
regarding the normalization of diplomatic relations by the end of
the year.

Vieira disclosed that Portugal also requested Vatican be
appointed as a special guest to help heal the rift in relations
between the Vatican and China.

Having governed Macao for over 442 years, Portugal will hand
over the small territory at midnight on Dec. 20.