Southwest Pacific dialog in Bali

Southwest Pacific dialog in Bali

JAKARTA: Indonesia will host the initial Southwest Pacific
talks in Bali, which will open on Saturday with a meeting of
senior officials.

The foreign ministry announced in its press release that
Director General for Asia-Pacific and Africa Makarim Wibisono
will preside over the convention, which is to be opened by
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda.

Delegations from Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines,
Papua New Guinea, East Timor and host Indonesia will attend the
Bali convention. A ministerial meeting will follow next month.

The dialog was promulgated during the ASEAN summit on
information in Singapore in November 2000, with an aim to improve
cooperation among countries in the southwest pacific region. The
move has materialized in the exchange of information and
concerted methods to face current world issues, such as
terrorism, human-trafficking, transnational crimes and regional
security problems.

Economic and trade issues, technical cooperation, investment
and sustainable development will also be the highlight of the
talks. -- JP