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.