Susilo to speak at CNN global forum

Reiner Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Tokyo

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is slated to deliver a keynote speech at a prestigious CNN global forum via a video linkup in Tokyo on Wednesday evening as the country's first democratically elected president faces an uphill battle to convince foreign investors to come to Indonesia in the wake of the recent bloody bomb blasts at home.

The CNN forum, to be held in Atlanta to commemorate the anniversary of the founding of the broadcasting network, will be opened by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Susilo is scheduled to deliver the keynote speech at 9:40 p.m. Tokyo time via a live video link from the Asahi TV studios. The content of Susilo's speech remains confidential, but in his speeches delivered on various occasions in Washington during a working visit last week, including one at a forum attended by U.S. President George W. Bush, Susilo thanked the global community for the massive tsunami relief aid given to the country and briefed investors about the key reform programs being undertaken by his government.

Susilo is on a four-day working visit to Japan, which is aimed at, among other things, further boosting economic ties between the two countries and attracting more Japanese investment. Aside from meeting with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and other top Japanese government officials, as well as Emperor Akihito, the president will also meet with Japanese business leaders and officials from influential trade and industry associations.

On Wednesday morning, Susilo is slated to hold separate meetings with the president of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Osamu Watanabe, the governor of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), and the president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Sadako Ogata.

The next day, the President will have breakfast with representatives of the influential chamber of commerce, the Keidanren, to be followed by a one-on-one meeting with a number of top officials of leading Japanese companies, including Mitsubishi Corp., Sumitomo Corp., Mitsui & Co., Seiko Epson, Teijin Ltd., and Matsushita.

Attracting more foreign investment to the country has been one of the current administration's main programs as investment is deemed crucial to helping boost economic growth and creating more jobs for the country's some 40 million unemployed.

During his visit to Washington, Susilo told U.S. investors that his government was committed to improving the investment climate at home through various reform measures, such as combating corruption, cutting down on excessive red tape, promoting legal certainty, and ensuring a stable macroeconomic environment. He also said that Indonesia was now moving toward fully fledged democracy.

But analysts have said that the recent bomb blast near Poso, Central Sulawesi, which killed 21 people and injured dozens of others would make it harder for Susilo to market the country as a safe investment destination. The fact that the incident took place in Poso, which was the scene of prolonged communal clashes between Christians and Muslims, raises fresh questions about the ability of the security forces to prevent and combat transnational crimes.

"It will be a tough marketing job for the President," admitted one of Susilo's aides.

During Susilo's visit, the two governments are expected to sign an agreement to start free trade talks as proposed by a joint study group in April.

Japan already has free trade agreements with Singapore and Mexico, and has started talks with a number of other countries, including Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines, all of which are seen as efforts by the Japanese to counter the growing influence of China in the region's economy.

Japan is one of Indonesia's main export markets, and its largest source of cheap foreign loans and foreign investment.