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.