Jakarta prepares for APEC delegates, journalists

Jakarta prepares for APEC delegates, journalists

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration is preparing a special
information kit and packaged tours for delegates and journalists
attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference
in Jakarta and Bogor in November.

The information kit will carry information on Jakarta and its
tourist resorts.

"We should exploit the visit of some 2,000 foreign journalists
and participants to the fullest, shouldn't we?" Surjadi asked.

Surjadi said that the city administration saw the APEC
conference as a good opportunity to introduce Jakarta to
international communities.

The conference will be held in the scenic town of Bogor, 60
kilometers south of the city, and in Jakarta.

APEC members include Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the
United States, Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan,
Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Surjadi said Thursday that Jakarta will also hold a number of
cultural activities for the conference's participants.

The city administration's programs, Surjadi said, will be
coordinated with the Conference's organizing committee.

The City Tourism Office revealed last month that the agency
would offer special packaged tours and hold a food festival for
the participants of the biennial conference.

Fauzi Bowo, the head of the office, said that the social and
cultural section of the conference organizing committee will
cooperate with Jakarta tour operators's to organize the packaged
tours.

The packaged tours, Fauzi said, will mainly consist of
sporting activities such as fishing, scuba diving and golfing.

Restaurants at the four and five-star hotels where the
participants will be staying, and other big restaurants in the
city, also plan to hold international food festivals for the
participants Fauzi said.

Press center

Foreign diplomats in Jakarta said earlier that they had
already booked a number of five-star hotels to accommodate the
thousands of delegates as well as the press corps who will cover
the conference.

Some of the foreign press agencies have also prepared for the
arrival of their fellow reporters who will help step up their
coverage of the conference, one of the biggest international
events held in Indonesia in over a decade.

An executive of the Jakarta chapter of Reuters told The
Jakarta Post yesterday that some 40 reporters and a television
crew from the British owned news agency will cover the summit.

"In addition to our staff here, 30 other people will come for
the conference," he said, adding that a number of Reuters' White
House correspondents will also visit Indonesia during the
conference.

A staff member of Agence France Presse said that three
photographers and eight reporters, besides four of its Jakarta
based reporters and one White House correspondent, will cover the
conference.

In a related development, Antara reported that the APEC press
room will be installed at the Plenary Hall of the Jakarta Hilton
Convention Center in Senayan, where the Non-Aligned Movement
Summit was held two years ago.

It said that the press center will be equipped with
telecommunication lines which will enable reporters to file their
stories and pictures directly to their headquarters. (09/has)