Soeharto's absence at G-15 Summit a loss to the forum
Soeharto's absence at G-15 Summit a loss to the forum
By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat
BUENOS AIRES (JP): Argentinean Foreign Minister Guido Mario Di
Tella said on Friday that President Soeharto's absence from
tomorrow's Group of 15 (G-15) Summit represents a "great loss" to
the forum, of which Indonesia is a key member.
"He would have been very much celebrated if he could have
come. We understand that he had some other problems but we hope
he will come some time in the future," Di Tella told The Jakarta
Post.
"Well, it's a great loss that he's not here with us," Di Tella
added, speaking after an informal lunch meeting with his
Indonesian counterpart, Ali Alatas.
Alatas and 14 other ministers of G-15 are currently in Buenos
Aires to attend a foreign ministers meeting yesterday which will
be followed by a two-day summit of the group's heads of
state/government on tomorrow.
G-15 was established in 1989 as a consultative forum for heads
of state/government to discuss global trends and establish a
dialog with the Group of Seven industrialized countries on
various issues affecting the developing world.
It is made up of Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Egypt,
India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru,
Senegal, Venezuela, Zimbabwe.
Because of domestic constraints and an extremely tight
schedule, President Soeharto, who has just returned to Jakarta
from a two-week trip abroad, is unable to attend the Buenos Aires
Summit.
This will be the first time Soeharto has been absent from a G-
15 Summit. The previous summits have been in Kuala Lumpur,
Caracas, Dakar and New Delhi.
"We have explained about Bapak (Mr.) President's absence and
they can thoroughly understand," Alatas told the Post on Friday.
Alatas said Indonesia has also explained that it will not be
able to host the 1997 G-15 Summit, as earlier proposed by the
forum.
"During the Senior Officials Meeting several delegates
expressed the hope that Indonesia would be the next chair of the
group after Zimbabwe," Alatas said, referring to Harare's
chairmanship in 1996.
Alatas explained that 1997 would be an inopportune time for
Indonesia to host the Summit, since it is the year in which the
country's general elections will take place.
"We anticipate that it would be impossible for us to become
host. We have asked that it (our chairmanship) be postponed," he
said, adding that Indonesia may be willing to host the summit a
later year.
Various delegates have indicated that Malaysia, which hosted
the first summit in 1991, will play host again in 1997.
Despite Soeharto's absence and Indonesia's refusal to host the
1997 Summit, Di Tella said he was confident that Alatas' presence
would help maintain Indonesia's important contribution to the
meetings.
"With the presence of your foreign minister Alatas, who is a
very well known figure everywhere in the world, I think we will
have a very fruitful discussion," he said.
Alatas stressed that Soeharto's absence and Indonesia's
refusal to lead the group in 1997 should not be construed as an
indication that Indonesia's commitment to G-15 was waning.
Alatas is leading the Indonesian delegation, which includes
Agus Tarmidzi, the personal representative to the President and
Indonesia's ambassador to the United Nations office in Geneva,
and Soemadi Brotodiningrat, the director general of foreign
economic relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Argentina officials have yet to determine the exact number of
heads of state/government that will attend the Summit, indicating
only that up to 10 are expected to arrive here by Monday.
Those who have expressed definite confirmations thus far
include the heads of state/government of Argentina, Chile, India,
Malaysia, Senegal, Venezuela, Zimbabwe.
The dwindling number of leaders attending the annual Summit
remains a dilemma for G-15. Last year's Summit in New Delhi had
to be down-graded to an extraordinary meeting because only six
heads of state/government attended.
Alatas said that, apart from issues pertaining to G-15, he and
his Argentinean counterpart had discussed ways of forging closer
ties between their two countries, including an investment
guarantee agreement which they will sign on Tuesday.
Alatas again extended an invitation to his counterpart to
visit Indonesia, possibly in connection with the next meeting of
the Argentina-Indonesia joint commission next year.