Mega promises U.S. investors better security at home

Mega promises U.S. investors better security at home

By Fabiola Desy Unidjaja

HOUSTON, Texas (JP): President Megawati Soekarnoputri promised
U.S. investors that her administration would work hard to improve
the security situation in Indonesia in a bid to attract more
investment.

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro
said that the assurances were given at a business luncheon here
on Saturday with some 40 U.S. businessmen, including top
officials of U.S. oil and mining giants such as ExxonMobil,
Freeport, Unocal, Conoco, Shell, and Texaco.

"The main point is we want to build a stronger relationship
with investors, and to assure them that we'll protect their
investments in our country," Purnomo told reporters.

Meanwhile Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayudha said Indonesia
would ratify several UN conventions on terrorism to provide the
country with a legal basis in its fight against terrorism.

Megawati is scheduled to meet with UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan on Monday to ratify the conventions at the UN headquarters
in New York, Hassan said as quoted by Antara.

The relatively poor security situation and political
instability in the country following the 1997 economic crisis and
the downfall of former authoritarian president Soeharto has been
one factor discouraging investors from entering the country and
existing investors from increasing their investments.

Megawati was set to open the Houston Energy Conference on
Sunday (late Sunday Jakarta time).

"At the conference, we'll announce the opening of bidding for
17 new oil blocks in Indonesia," Purnomo said.

The government said earlier this year that it would offer some
23 new oil and gas exploration blocks in a bid to boost domestic
oil output in the future.

The tender for nine oil blocks was opened in March. But a
government source said that the government could only complete
the bidding on six blocks, while the remaining three blocks would
be retendered together with the other 14 blocks.

The government has yet to formally announce the winning
bidders for the six blocks, but reports said that the winners
included BP, Conoco, Amerada Hess, Zodan N.V., and Zudavi N.V.

Analysts have said that improved security is a key
prerequisite for attracting new investment into the country's oil
and gas sector.

The business luncheon was hosted by ExxonMobil, which earlier
this year suspended its gas operation in troubled Aceh province
for a few months due to security concerns, although the company
has recently resumed some of its operations.

The governors of Aceh and Irian Jaya provinces, Abdullah Puteh
and J.P. Sallosa respectively, also attended the luncheon.
Separatist groups in the two mineral-rich provinces have been
stepping up the pressure for independence over recent years.

Abdullah said that he was invited by ExxonMobil to meet the
company's board of directors in Houston.

"I'm going to explain to them that the security situation in
Aceh is improving, and that there was no reason for ExxonMobil
not to fully operate its refineries in Aceh," he said.

On Saturday, ExxonMobil also arranged a rodeo show for
Megawati at the Humble Civic Arena.

Wearing a cowboy hat, which was presented by ExxonMobil vice
president Harry Longwell, Megawati seemed to enjoy the rodeo.

Megawati's visit to the U.S. is being made as that country
lays plans to attack Afghanistan, which has been a refuge for
Saudi Arabian born multimillionaire Osama bin Laden, who has been
named as the prime suspect in Sept. 11's devastating attacks on
the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in
Washington.

There have been fears that Megawati will face difficulties at
home from Muslim hard-liners if the U.S. does attack Afghanistan.

Megawati will leave the U.S. for Japan on Sept. 25 after
visiting New York the day before to lay a wreathe at the site of
the ruined WTC towers.

Earlier, the U.S. President George W. Bush promised Megawati
to restore U.S. military aid and pledged financial aid.