Soeharto vows to balance population with resources
By Rikza Abdullah
NEW YORK (JP): President Soeharto, representing 75 heads of state and government, pledged yesterday to balance population growth with resources during a UN ceremony presided over by United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.
"We hope that the statement we are presenting today will form a foundation for the strengthening and expansion of South-South cooperation, particularly that in the field of population and development," Soeharto said prior to presenting the Statement on Population Stabilization. The statement is written on a plaque made from copper.
The ceremony, held at the Trusteeship Council Chamber of the UN headquarters here, was attended by representatives of the 75 heads of state and government participating in the UN's three-day special commemorative meeting, which ended Tuesday night.
Also on hand at the ceremony were Indonesia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas, Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono, Minister of Population/Chairman of the National Family Planning Haryono Suyono, Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung, Ambassador to the U.S. Arifin Siregar and Nugroho Wisnumurti, representative to the UN.
Soeharto said that South-South cooperation is very important to improve the self-confidence and self-reliance of the developing countries in the South.
"When all nations are self-reliant, they will have greater common responsibility to build a new world order which will bring happiness to everybody," he said.
He said that Indonesia, with its population of almost 200 million, has experienced the difficulty of carrying out development programs under low levels of health, education and socioeconomic conditions.
The 75 heads of state and government preparing the statement represented 3.9 billion people, or 68 percent of the world's total population.
Executive director of the United Nations Population Fund Nafis Sadik hailed President Soeharto's efforts to promote the stabilization of population growth with resources by asking other leaders to sign the statement.
"We note with special gratitude the outstanding efforts that you, Mr. President, have provided for the initiative of world leaders on population stabilization," she said.
"You have asked personally all the heads of government from the Non-Aligned Nations to sign this important statement and 75 world leaders have done so."
"You have also promoted cooperation among countries, known as South-South cooperation. It is in recognition of all these efforts that you were honored in 1989 with the United Nations Population Award, the only award sanctioned by the General Assembly of the United Nations," he said.
Boutros-Ghali said that populations programs have been one of the success stories of the United Nations.
During the 1960s, when such a statement on population was introduced for the first time, global population was growing at a rate of over two percent annually and fertility stood at almost five births per woman.
Today, the population global growth rate has declined to 1.6 percent per annum and the fertility rate to 3.1 children per woman, he said.
Meanwhile, Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono told reporters Tuesday evening that President Soeharto had made separate bilateral meetings at the UN headquarters building with Thai Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-Archa, Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok, Rumanian President Ion Iliescu and acting president of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Stojan Andov.
Soeharto also held a meeting with UNICEF's executive director Carol Bellamy.
Moerdiono said that Soeharto and Silpa-Archa exchanged views on preparations for the third leadership meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which will be held in the Japanese city of Osaka next month, and the next year's summit meeting of European and Asian leaders in Bangkok.
The two heads of government also discussed efforts to improve bilateral ties between Indonesia and Thailand, the minister said.
He said Kok also discussed preparations on the planned Asia- Europe summit as well as the success of Queen Beatrix's 10-day visit to Indonesia only a few days after the country celebrated its 50th anniversary on Aug. 17.
The Macedonian leader asked for Indonesia's support for the world recognition of his country, while the Rumanian president invited Indonesia to improve economic cooperation with his country, which, he said, could be used as a gateway for its products to enter Europe.
Bellamy, according to Moerdiono, said UNICEF will continue its assistance to Indonesia in support of its programs to improve the health of its children.
"Bellamy appreciates Indonesia's recent success in carrying out our nationwide polio vaccination program within a single day," Moerdiono said. (riz)