NAM ministers to decide on new leaders in Cairo
NAM ministers to decide on new leaders in Cairo
JAKARTA (JP): Foreign ministers of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) will meet in Cairo next Tuesday to discuss which member nation will replace Indonesia as chairman next year.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas said here on Tuesday that he will go to the Egyptian capital after attending a meeting of the Indonesia-Malaysia Joint Commission in Kuala Lumpur on May 28.
The May 31-June 3 Cairo meeting will also review Indonesia's leadership of the 110-nation movement, which began in September 1992.
"Who the new leader will be is still unclear. However, there have been requests from Latin American countries that one of them fill the position," he told reporters after accompanying South Korean Foreign Minister Han Sung-Joo to a courtesy call on President Soeharto at the Merdeka Palace.
Alatas declined to speculate on which country is likely to succeed Indonesia but pointed out that Nicaragua, which has sought the seat in the past, is considering the post.
One of the Latin American countries to have headed the movement is Cuba, from 1979-1982.
He said that if the Cairo meeting fails to elect NAM's next leader, the foreign ministers could convene once more to settle the issue when they gather in New York for the United Nation's General Assembly later in the year.
On another topic, the South Korean minister said after his meeting with Soeharto that Seoul will continue to provide aid to Indonesia.
"We will actively participate in the project. We place the highest priority on our economic cooperation with Indonesia and will continue to do the best we can in that connection," Han said, adding that detailed discussions on the matter were made earlier, during his talks with Alatas.
South Korea's financial assistance to Indonesia this year will be determined at the next meeting of the Consultative Group for Indonesia scheduled for early July in Paris.
South Korea is one of 18 donor countries that belong to the group. Other countries include Japan, the U.S. and Britain. Last year South Korea pledged US$13.4 million to Indonesia. (pwn)