Megawati flies to Mexico on Tuesday

Megawati flies to Mexico on Tuesday

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In the aftermath of the Bali bombing, President Megawati
Soekarnoputri is slated to leave on Tuesday to attend the Asia
Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Mexico.

Officials from the President's office said on Monday that
Megawati would leave on Tuesday at midnight, making a stop in
Greece for around nine hours before continuing the journey to
Mexico.

"The President will return to Indonesia on Oct. 28 after the
summit is over," the official said.

The trip was originally planned for 16 days, as Megawati was
to conduct a state visit to Cuba before the summit and attend the
G-15 in Venezuela and a meeting of the Association of Southeast
Asia Nations (ASEAN) in Cambodia afterwards.

However after the Bali attack on Oct. 12, Megawati cut short
the planned trip to attend the ASEAN summit and will leave
Jakarta on Nov. 3.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said that Megawati
could not miss the APEC Summit as Indonesia needed all the
support it could garner after the Bali attack.

"There will be two retreats during the summit, the first one
to discuss the counter terrorism issue and the second to discuss
economic efforts in the current global market," Hassan said.

Megawati will also host a luncheon of the ASEAN member
countries as the current ASEAN chair, Cambodia, is not a member
of APEC, Hassan said.

The summit will be the first event in which Megawati will meet
with international leaders after the Bali attack, which claimed
more than 185 lives.

Analysts said this would be a good opportunity for Megawati to
speak directly to the world about what happened in Bali.

Major changes also occurred in the number of the President's
entourage. An official at the State Palace told The Jakarta Post
that as of Monday Megawati's husband Taufik Kiemas and daughter
Puan Maharani were not included in the trip.

The President will also only take two legislators and two out
of four presidential adjutants on this trip.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-
Jakti, Minister of Trade and Industry Rini Suwandi and Hassan are
the three ministers who will accompany the President.

Megawati was criticized for the huge numbers in her entourages
following her recent overseas trips, and State/Cabinet Secretary
Bambang Kesowo promised that such large groups would be reduced.