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.