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.