President SBY makes international debut in Chilean capital
President SBY makes international debut in Chilean capital
Endy M. Bayuni, The Jakarta Post, Santiago
What is the prospect of Indonesia trading with Chile? Given
the vast expanse of water that separates the two countries,
probably not a lot, but that has not stopped Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono from making the long journey to make his international
debut here since becoming Indonesia's President in October.
The Garuda Indonesia Airbus A300 carrying the President and
his entourage touched down at the Santiago International Airport
on Friday morning (evening Jakarta time) after a tiring 32-hour
journey from Jakarta, with brief refueling stops in Tokyo,
Vancouver and Lima.
Santiago this weekend hosts the annual summit of the Asia
Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum -- a grouping of 21
countries that includes almost every country that borders the
Pacific Ocean.
President Susilo is availing of this opportunity to the full
to meet with as many leaders as he can fit into his less than 60-
hour stay, besides attending the summit proper.
According to his schedule he will meet with nine APEC leaders
and the chief executive officer of Mexican cement giant Cemex,
address a business forum, give two interviews to the Chilean
media, and meet with members of the tiny Indonesian community in
Chile.
"International cooperation is part of the solution to our
economic problems," Susilo told a media briefing on board the
plane shortly before landing in Santiago. Such cooperation, he
said, would bring mutual benefits and greater interconnectedness.
"We cannot live in isolation," he said, pointing to such areas
as debt reduction mechanisms, infrastructural investment and
exports, where international cooperation could benefit Indonesia.
There is hardly time for the President to enjoy the view in
Santiago, a sprawling city of 5.5 million people that faces the
Pacific Ocean to the west and the snowy Andes Mountains to the
east.
The tasks of sightseeing and attending cultural events will
fall to Ani Yudhoyono, who will be joining other first ladies for
a series of programs for spouses organized by the host
government.
Susilo's entourage includes the minister for the economy,
Aburizal Bakrie, foreign affairs, Hassan Wirayuda, trade, Mari
Pangestu, who arrived in Santiago earlier in the week, and energy
and mineral resources, Purnomo Yusgiantoro.
Purnomo's presence is crucial. He is currently president of
the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and so
represents the oil cartel in discussing the problem of high world
oil prices, a source of concern for every country today.
The President has also brought members of the House of
Representatives, the Regional Representatives Council, the
Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Indonesian
National Youth Committee.
"Rebuilding the economy is our common goal," he said,
explaining the presence of representatives from many Indonesian
institutions in Santiago. "Let's play as a united football
team."
After checking into his hotel and taking a quick lunch, the
President will have no less than seven meetings on Friday,
including meetings with Tran Duc Luong of Vietnam, the CEO of
Cemex, John Howard of Australia, Ricardo Lagos of Chile, Helen
Clark of New Zealand, Hu Jintao of China, and members of the
Indonesian community for dinner. His schedule for Saturday
includes meetings with Paul Martin of Canada, Vladimir Putin of
Russia, George W. Bush of the United States and Junichiro Koizumi
of Japan.
To complete his debut, President Susilo has also been asked to
deliver a keynote address at the meeting between APEC leaders and
the APEC Business Advisory Council. His paper is aptly titled,
"Security Challenges to the World Economy".
The APEC conferences, or "retreats" as they are officially
called, will be held on Saturday and Sunday.
Among the chief issues at the APEC summit are the terror
threat, trade and investment liberalization, and governance --
issues that are also important to Indonesia.
"I will show them our commitment to building and strengthening
economic cooperation. I will show them the economic opportunities
Indonesia has to offer," the President said.
There is another good reason why SBY should be present here,
besides making his international debut: The APEC discussions and
their communiques will still have regard to the Bogor Goals, so
named after the APEC summit that Indonesia, then under Soeharto,
hosted 10 years ago in Bogor.
The Bogor Declaration calls for the establishment of a Pacific
free trade and investment region, setting a deadline of 2010 for
developed countries and 2020 for developing countries.
"We're still committed to these goals," he said.