Megawati embarks on low key European visit

Megawati embarks on low key European visit

Annastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Just one month after her last trip overseas, President Megawati
Soekarnoputri left on a whirlwind two-week trip to Europe on
Saturday, her first stop being Rome to attend a Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) summit.

Megawati, whose last outing took her to China, North Korea,
South Korea and India, took off on a visit to five European
states after completing a time-sapping reshuffle in the
Indonesian Military (TNI). New TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto
pledged after his induction on Friday that the military was
prepared to crush any attempt to undermine the legitimate
government.

The trip allows Megawati to take time out of a political
squabble with the House of Representatives, who plan to summon
her to clarify Rp 40 billion of presidential aid used to build a
military and police housing complex and her failure to heed the
House's objection to her visit to East Timor.

Unlike the 1986 summit when the FAO praised Indonesia for its
self-sufficiency in rice, Megawati this time around will
represent a country which is facing a food shortage.

The upcoming summit at FAO's Rome headquarters follows up a
world food conference held in 1996, which was aimed at restoring
political will to reduce the number of hungry people around the
world to 400 million by 2005.

Those attending the Rome summit between June 10 and June 13
will include dozens of head of states, mostly from developing
countries, who expect to negotiate a new proposal for an extra
US$24 billion of annual public investment from current national
agriculture and rural development programs to combat famine.

The program will combine investment in farming and rural
development aimed at strengthening the poor's food purchasing
power as it focuses on small farmers and seeks to create more
opportunities for rural people.

The event was rescheduled for last year, but postponed due to
the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

Accompanying President Megawati on her trip are Minister of
Industry and Trade Rini Suwandi, Minister of Agriculture Bungaran
Saragih, State/Cabinet Secretary Bambang Kesowo and Megawati's
husband, Taufik Kiemas.

She is scheduled to address the summit, but it remains unknown
what message she will send to the world.

Foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda earlier announced the
importance of Indonesia's presence at the summit.

"Indonesia considers the supply of food to be one of the most
strategic issues. As a result, cooperation between Indonesia and
other countries in supplying food becomes important," said
Hassan, who will only join the President's entourage in London.

Indonesia recently received US$60 million in aid from the
World Food Program (WFP) to help tackle food shortages in various
parts of the country.

During her Italian trip, Megawati is also scheduled to meet
Pope John Paul II in the Vatican.

Afterwards, Megawati will fly to London to meet British Prime
Minister Tony Blair, and witness the signing of several
Memorandum of Understandings on cultural cooperation, recruitment
and the employment of health care professionals by foreign
minister Hassan.

From June 17 to June 19, Megawati will be in the Czech
Republic to meet Prime Minister Milos Zeman, President Vaclav
Havel, head of the senate Petr Pithart and Prague mayor Jan Kasl.

Slovakia will be the last stop on the trip, Megawati will hold
talks with President Schuster and Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda
before flying back home on June 21.