SBY postpones overseas visit to address fuel shortage
SBY postpones overseas visit to address fuel shortage
Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Bangkok
The worsening fuel shortage at home has forced President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to postpone his visit, scheduled from
July 13 to July 20, to China, Brunei Darussalam and Thailand.
"We received the information on the trip being postponed from
Jakarta on Friday afternoon," deputy chief de mission Sunten Z.
Manurung at the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok told The Jakarta
Post on Saturday.
"The President is concerned with the ongoing fuel shortage at
home and has decided it is better to stay home for awhile until
the crisis has been tackled," he said.
Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng confirmed the
cancellation of the visit, but declined to cite the reason.
The country has felt the bite of the fuel shortage,
particularly of premium gasoline, over the past week, with long
queues observed at gas stations nationwide.
It is facing fuel supply problems due to increasing domestic
demand and rising global oil prices, which have raised the cost
of the government's fuel subsidy.
Sunten said the visit might be rescheduled to sometime between
the last week of July and the first week of August.
"It will, of course, depend on the host countries as we have
to synchronize our schedule with their own schedules," Sunten
said.
Susilo was to have arrived in Bangkok on June 18 for a full
Thai Cabinet meeting at Government House. On June 19, he had been
given an audience with King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit.
The President also planned to meet Indonesian and Thai
business groups as well as Indonesians residing in Bangkok.
Meanwhile, education attache at the embassy Muhammad Huda told
the Post that Thammasat University was scheduled to confer an
honorary doctorate degree in political sciences on Susilo during
his visit.
Susilo was awarded a doctorate degree in agriculture last
October from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB).
High on the agenda of Susilo's visit to Thailand was seeking a
coordinated approach to end piracy in the Strait of Malacca, Thai
foreign minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon said on Wednesday.
Thailand was set to consult Indonesia on areas where it proposes
to carry out joint naval patrols.
Other topics included issues on fisheries, agriculture and the
joint launch of a tourism campaign targeting Europeans and
Americans.
This year, Indonesia and Thailand celebrate the 55th
anniversary of bilateral relations between the two countries.
Meanwhile, Susilo's visit to China was also aimed at boosting
relations between the two giant Asian nations. Susilo was
scheduled to discuss economic issues and regional ones with
Chinese President Hu Jintao.
The President was also expected to visit the southern Chinese
city of Guangzhou, the center of China's manufacturing industry,
and an important investment destination for Indonesian
businesses. Guangzhou is a big buyer of Indonesian raw materials.
In April, Hu Jintao made a two-day state visit to Indonesia,
and signed agreements to boost bilateral trade by more than 50
percent over the next three years to US$20 billion.
Indonesia wants to sell energy-hungry China more of its oil
and natural gas.
Political ties between Indonesia and China have improved
significantly since the fall of former president Soeharto, who
cut ties with communist China between 1965 and the 1980s.