Indonesian president to meet Zelensky and Putin to urge peace talks

Yahoo – AFP, 26 June 2022 

Indonesian President and G20 chairman Joko Widodo set off on Sunday to Europe where he said he plans to visit Russia and Ukraine and meet with the countries' leaders to urge peace talks. 

Widodo departed for Germany to attend as a guest for the G7 summit from June 26 to 27, and he will then go to the Ukraine capital Kyiv to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky. 

"The mission is to ask... President Zelensky to open a dialogue forum for peace, to build peace because the war has to be stopped," he told a press conference in Jakarta. 

The two leaders will also discuss the food supply chain "that needs to be reactivated" soon, Widodo said. From Kyiv, Widodo is scheduled to visit Moscow and meet with Russia's Vladimir Putin. 

The visit to Moscow is planned for June 30, Indonesian authorities said earlier. 

"With the same mission, I will ask President Putin to open a dialogue and to immediately have a ceasefire and to stop the war," he said. Earlier in April Widodo announced he had called Zelensky and invited him to join world leaders at G20 Summit in Bali in November 2022 as a guest. 

Indonesia holds the rotating presidency of the G20 this year and has been pressured by Western countries, led by the United States, to exclude Russia from the meeting. 

Widodo, however, did not rescind the invitation to Russia and said that Putin has expressed his intention to attend the November summit. 

Indonesia, like most major emerging economies, has tried to maintain a neutral position and has called for a peaceful resolution to the months-long conflict. 

Widodo refused to send weapons to Ukraine in response to a request from Zelensky, instead offering humanitarian aid. 

After concluding the European visit, Widodo will head to the United Arab Emirates before returning to Indonesia.

NU to Host Int'l Summit for Moderate Islamic Leaders

Jakarta Globe, Eko Prasetyo, March 31, 2016

Nahdlatul Ulama leaders at the State Palace after meeting President Joko
Widodo on Thursday (31/03). (State Palace Press Photo/Edi)

Jakarta. Indonesia’s biggest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, will host the International Summit of Moderate Islamic Leaders in May as part of its effort to help tackle rising terrorism and radicalism.

The meeting is slated for May 9-11 and will be held at the Jakarta Convention Center.

Ma'aruf Amin, one of the to NU leaders, met with President Joko Widodo on Thursday (31/03) to discuss preparations for the event.

“Radicalism and terrorism are clearly on the rise, as the bomb attacks and violent episodes showed recently. Moderate leaders of Islam should come together to counter this,” said Ma’aruf.

Meanwhile, NU chairman Said Aqil Siradj said the president supported the organization's stance against violence. “The government believes that Nahdlatul Ulama, from its central leadership to its village branches, is consistently working against radicalism and will always stand up for tolerant Islamic principles,” he claimed.

Recently, NU has been campaigning for a moderate form of Islamic ideology dubbed "Islam Nusantara," promoting moderate Indonesian Muslims as supporters of nationalism and tolerance.

Using its worldwide network, NU plans to work with moderate religious leaders to reinterpret religious texts that it says have been manipulated by radicals to justify terrorist acts.

Some 60 heads of state will be invited to join the International Summit of Moderate Islamic Leaders.

Suu Kyi's party wins historic Myanmar polls

Yaho – AFP, Aidan Jones, Hla-Hla Htay, 13 Nov 2015

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is barred from the presidency 

by a the constitution but has vowed to govern from "above the president" 

(AFP Photo/Ye Aung Thu)

Aung San Suu Kyi's party secured a landslide election victory in Myanmar on Friday, propelling the pro-democracy movement to power after a 25-year struggle against authoritarian rule.

It promises a new dawn for a country asphyxiated by half a century of army rule that battered the economy and repressed its people.

In a reflection of rapid changes that have swept the country, confirmation of the win came five years to the day since Suu Kyi was released from house arrest by the military.

A giant graffiti depiction of Myanmar's 

opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi outside

 the headquarters of the National League

 for Democracy party (NLD) in Yangon

(AFP Photo/Ye Aung Thu)

She has now led her National League for Democracy party to a massive popular mandate with more than 80 percent of seats going to the movement.

The NLD on Friday sailed through the two-thirds majority it needs to rule, claiming 364 parliamentary seats with a number of results yet to be declared.

The election has won praise from observers for its smooth, peaceful passing, in a country where violence and repression has normally met democratic milestones.

"We have been ready to form a new government for many years," party spokesman Nyan Win told AFP, greeting the result.

Suu Kyi, 70, has not spoken to the party faithful since Monday.

In Yangon there were no immediate signs of celebration after the party figurehead urged restraint from supporters, aware of the threat of a backlash in a country where the army's writ remains large.

Under Myanmar's complex political system, the NLD will also have to wait until March next year for the transfer of power.

That gap has left some party loyalists nervous at the potential for political chicanery by an army establishment that wields substantial power, despite its chastening at the polls.

But the comfortable majority gives Suu Kyi's party control of the lower and upper houses, allowing it to elect the president and form the government.

Long wait

Suu Kyi, 70, is barred from the presidency by a junta-scripted constitution, which also guarantees the army a 25-percent bloc of seats.

She has already vowed to govern from "above the president" saying she will circumnavigate the charter ban by backing a proxy to run for the top office.

Myanmar's President Thein Sein (R) leaves after casting his vote in Naypyidaw

on November 8, 2015 (AFP Photo/Str)

The win represents a huge stride in Suu Kyi's decades-long journey from political prisoner, held under house arrest for 15 years by the former junta, to the heart of power.

Many NLD supporters have waited 25 years for their vote to count.

"I'm so happy... Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will do more for us than the current government," said 66-year-old street vendor Moe Thu.

Buoyed by her party's sweep of the polls, Suu Kyi has called for "national reconciliation talks" with President Thein Sein and army chief Min Aung Hlaing.

Both men have congratulated the NLD on its election performance and have vowed to abide by the result as well as help a peaceful transition of power.

The lower house speaker Shwe Mann has also been invited to talks but his political stock appears low after losing his seat and falling out with many senior figures from the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party.

The USDP, which is made up of former military cadres, has been mauled at the election.

Yet the president, a former general who swapped his uniform for civilian clothes to lead the government in 2011, has won praise for steering the reforms that culminated in Sunday's peaceful poll.

Vendors sell t-shirts depicting Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to 

party supporters outside the headquarters of the National League for Democracy

party (NLD) in Yangon on November 13, 2015 (AFP Photo/Ye Aung Thu)

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon congratulated Suu Kyi for her election win, but also hailed the "courage and vision" of Thein Sein for "leadership in the reform process".

Those reforms have seen many political prisoners released, the restoration of basic freedoms and the economy resuscitated after years of madcap junta planning.

The international community has welcomed the election, with US President Barack Obama calling both Suu Kyi and the president to offer his congratulations.

Obama has spent great efforts on helping Myanmar's transition from authoritarian rule to an emergent democracy, visiting the country twice in the last four years.

Yet the country's military is not about to disappear. It retains major influence with its parliamentary bloc, which effectively assures a veto over constitutional change.

It also has key ministerial posts reserved under the charter.

Many NLD supporters remain deeply suspicious of the army and its political allies, who are notorious for dirty tricks and crackdowns that have left hundreds dead and thousands jailed.

Dates in the life of #AungSanSuuKyi pic.twitter.com/IgaMtQfzNw

— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) November 13, 2015

Related Articles:

Myanmar election officials: Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD party wins parliamentary majority

Burma's Thein Sein 'would accept Suu Kyi as president'  (Sep 29, 2012)

Burma leader Thein Sein pays tribute to Aung San Suu Kyi (Sep  27, 2012)

Obama opens door to new U.S. ties with Myanmar (Nov 18, 2011)

President Barack Obama announces that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

will travel to Myanmar, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Nusa Dua, 

Bali, November 18, 2011. (Credit: Reuters/Jason Reed)

Jokowi in Prime Spot at APEC

Symbolic: Indonesia’s president asked to stand between two of the world’s most powerful leaders

Jakarta Globe, Robertus Wardi, Nov 12, 2014

Russian President Vladimir Putin walks past US President Barack Obama
 as Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his wife Iriana and other world leaders
 and their spouses get into position for a family photo before a banquet in Beijing
on Nov. 10, 2014. (EPA Photo/Sergei Ilnitsky)

The spotlight is on Indonesia, analysts say, as president Joko Widodo stood in the front row between two of the world’s most powerful leaders, Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Barrack Obama during Monday’s photo session at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation in Beijing.

“This is flattering for Indonesia,” University of Indonesia international relations expert Hikmahanto Juwana said on Tuesday. “[As host], China has the right to say who stands where [in the photo shoot].”

The placement, he said, signals China’s acknowledgement of Indonesia’s important role in the global political climate.

“Only [leaders] of important countries get to stand next to the host,” he said adding that during the 2011 East Asia Summit, which Indonesia hosted, former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono also got to decide who stands where in a photo shoot of world leaders.

“China needs [Indonesia] to mitigate tensions between [China] and many countries, including the US,” Hikmahanto said of the subtle meanings behind the placement of Monday’s session.

President Joko must play this important role, Hikmahanto said, as his predecessor Yudhoyono did during his administration, with the world looking to Indonesia as a diplomatic force, which can ease tensions between China and the rest of the world.

“But the president also suggested to the international community that [Indonesia] will carry out that role as long as we don’t sacrifice our national interests,” he said.

Political observer from the National Strategic Studies Institute, Irwan Suhanto said Indonesia’s strategic location also makes many countries to see Indonesia as an important ally.

“Jokowi is implicitly saying to the world be friends with Indonesia if you want to move forward,” he said.

Joko said he is surprised to find himself standing between Xi and Obama despite the presence of leaders from more developed and powerful countries.

“I was at the center. This is a symbol. People are fighting to make friends with Indonesia,” the president said.

The leverage had allowed Indonesia to be firmer in pushing its own agendas.

Responding to China’s proposal of creating an Asia-Pacific free-trade zone, Joko said Indonesia will not accommodate one-sided needs.

“We don’t want to support [the proposal] hastily. We must calculate first our products. What will benefit us. We don’t want to be trapped by their needs,” he said.

The president said he was more in favor of a partial implementation of the free-trade area, protecting industries such as fisheries and rattan, which in Indonesia are produced by individuals instead of large companies.

“We must be firm when others want us to open [the Indonesian market]. We don’t want others to flood our country [with their products],” Joko said. “I have said this quite openly that they were shocked. I want to get straight to the point, no time for diplomacy.”

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Jokowi, Xi Push Bilateral Relations Forward at APEC Meeting

UN’s Ban Ki-Moon Meets Young Eco-Warriors at a Bali School

A green school makes the effort in nurturing its students' potential in becoming green leaders

Jakarta Globe, Nadia Bintoro, Sep 07, 2014

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon greets young students in Sibang Kaja,
Bali on Aug. 28, 2014. (Photo courtesy of Green School Bali)

Putting theoretical discourse into real action, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited Green School in Sibang Kaja, Bali, on Aug. 28, to learn about and witness firsthand sustainable education from a group of future leaders.

Accompanied by several significant figures in the political movement for climate change, including Norwegian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Morten Hoglund; Ambassador of Norway to Indonesia Stig Traavik; founder of the Green School Bali, John A. Hardy; and head of school John Stewart.

Ban and the delegation were warmly welcomed by 412 students of Green School, from pre-kindergarten to high-school level.

Equally excited to salute the secretary general on stage was Green School’s own deputy secretary general of the campus’ Model United Nations Club, Clover Horan.

The 10th grader leads the Green School’s own version of the UN, which aims to expand students’ knowledge on international issues and policy making.

Together with Ban, the delegation took the stage to give their remarks on the importance of young leaders to create a more sustainable future ahead.

In his opening speech, the UN secretary general shared his amazement over Green School’s commitment in molding the younger generation into future green leader of the world.

“This is the most unique and impressive school I have ever visited. Thank you very much for your strong commitment and vision to [making] this world green,” Ban said.

Recognizing the alarming threat climate change poses on the development and betterment of the world’s poorest communities, Ban noted that around today’s world leaders have had “though choices to make,” especially in the months leading up to the Sept. 1-4 Climate Summit and its post-2015 Development Agenda.

Onlookers as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon speaks at the school
on Aug. 28, 2014. (Photo courtesy of Nadia Bintoro)

He encouraged his young audience to take an active part in the world’s ongoing efforts to combat climate change by developing into global citizens.

“Tomorrow you are going to be [our] leaders. And today, we need to be together working very hard to make the world of tomorrow much better for all its people,” Ban appealed to the crowd of enthusiastic students.

He especially congratulated “Bye Bye Plastic Bag,” an initiative led by Green School students Isabel and Melati Wijsen, which aims to collect one million signatures to ban the use of plastic bags in Bali. Ban said he hopes children all over the world could have the drive and passion to start a similar campaign.

During his visit, the secretary general also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Green School Bali, the National Redd+ Agency and the United Nations Office for Redd+ Coordination in Indonesia (UNorcid).

The joint endeavor, called “Green Schools for Sustainable Development,” details a collaborative framework between the three parties involved for the implementation of sustainable development in Indonesia’s schools and other educational institutions.

The MOU will serve as a guide for facilitation and development of green schools across Indonesia.

The three signatories are committed to recruiting one million Green Youth Ambassadors in schools across the archipelago by 2017.

“The Green School is an outstanding proof of concept. The next step is to achieve proof of scale. Supporting [the development] of green schools and strengthening environmentally sensitive educational curricula are two of the ten imperative actions of the National Redd+ Agency in 2014,” said Heru Prasetyo, head of the Indonesian National Redd+ Agency (BP Redd+).

The international delegation’s visit continued with a tour around Green School, showcasing several of the institution’s efforts to promote sustainable living and green education.

The event came to an end with the secretary general and his wife releasing two Bali starlings, which were bred by the Begawan Foundation — located within the school’s premises — to limit the risk of the species’s extinction.

As the magnificent white birds soared into the blue Bali sky, so did the hopes of those in attendance that day, for a greener and better future.

UN Secretary General Ban was in Bali on Aug. 28-29 for the Alliance of Civilizations’ Sixth Global Forum, which this year carried the theme of “Unity in Diversity: Celebrating Diversity for Common and Shared Values.”

Renowned conservationist Jane Goodall was the star of a recent conference
in Bali on sustainability. (Photo Courtesy of Green School)

Related Article:

Jane Goodall, an Eco Legend, Preaches Love for All in Bali

Fond Farewell for Yudhoyono, Asean Big Brother

Jakarta Globe, Tito Summa Siahaan, May 12, 2014

Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono delivers a speech at his
 lecture event in Tokyo on December 13, 2013. He presided over his last Asean
Summit meeting this past weekend. (Reuters Photo/Toru Hanai)

Naypyidaw. The 24th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Myanmar may be focusing on pressing issues like the South China Sea disputes or the implementation of Asean Economic Community, but regional leaders did not forget to take time to bid a fond farewell to President Bambang Yudhoyono.

The summit is Yudhoyono’s last, as the next one, which will also be held in Myanmar with the addition of main dialogue partners, will be attended by Indonesia’s new president who takes office in October.

“In the past 10 years, [Yudhoyono] had not only provided Indonesia with democracy, growth, stability and prosperity but also [contributed] to the strength of Asean,” said U Thein Sein, Myanmar’s president and the summit chair.

“I’m confident that you will be able to continue provide valuable advice on the cause of Asean,” he added.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak thanked Yudhoyono for his “untiring effort to build the Asean community for the last 10 years.”

“We greatly value his past and present contribution to Asean, and we hope he will continue to do so in a different capacity.”

Philippine President Benigno Aquino said Yudhoyono was “a big brother or uncle” for other Asean member states and “a true friend” of the Philippines, while Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong attributed the robust and steady growth of Indonesia to Yudhoyono’s leadership.

Yudhoyono responded to his colleagues by saying Asean was “a caring and sharing community,” and applauded the ability of its members to find a meeting point for all their different national interests.

Related Article:

A Call for Peace as Asean Deals With Disputes

APEC opens two-day summit in Bali

Deutsche Welle, 7 October 2013

Leaders from Asia-Pacific nations and territories have gathered on the Indonesian island of Bali to attend the APEC summit . Notable by his absence is US President Barack Obama.

 Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono delivers his speech during
 the opening of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in
 Nusa Dua, Indonesia resort island of Bali October 6, 2013. REUTERS/Beawiharta

The leaders from the 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) were expected to discuss reducing trade and investment barriers and speeding up regional economic integration and infrastructure development.

Opening the summit, which is taking place under high security, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday called for closer cooperation in the region.

"We all feel the pain of the crisis," Yudhoyono said. "It is therefore important to develop closer cooperation towards accelerating economic growth and global recovery."

Among the leaders attending are Chinese President Xi Jinping, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and new Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Russian President Vladimir Putin was expected to arrive on Monday

Obama cancellation

However, US President Barack Obama, who had hoped to use the summit to iron out issues regarding the free-trade pact he is promoting, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), cancelled his attendance at the summit because of the current US government shutdown over a Congress budget row. He is being represented at the summit by Secretary of State John Kerry.

Despite Obama's absence, twelve APEC members were expected to continue work on the pact, which the US president sees as underlining a US "pivot" towards Asia as a counterbalance to China's increased influence in the region.

The twelve members involved in the TPP talks on the sidelines of the APEC meeting are the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, Chile, Canada, Mexico and Peru.

US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker told reporters in Bali on Sunday that delegates had reached agreement on several thorny issues in the proposed pact. The US hopes to secure a deal on the TPP by the end of the year.

In addition to the countries listed above, other APEC members include China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Russia, Chinese Taipei and Thailand.

tj/hc (dpa, AFP, AP)

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SBY Surprises Putin With ‘Happy Birthday’ Performance

Batik for the world

The JakartaPost, Antara, Jakarta, Tue, 09/20/2011

Batik for the world: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (right) receives
 a visit from Indonesia Batik Foundation chairman (YBI) Jultin Ginandjar
 Kartasasmita (second right) and YBI advisory board member Doddy Soepardi at
 the Presidential Office in Jakarta on Tuesday. The visit was part of the plan to
organize the World Batik Summit, slated to be held in Jakarta on Sept. 28. (Antara/Widodo S. Jusuf)

Clinton and Google chairman to attend summit in Bali

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 07/13/2011

Chairman of Google Inc. Eric Schmidt and US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will attend the Regional Entrepreneurship Summit, which will be held from July 22-24 in Bali, Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu says.

The Regional Entrepreneurship Summit is a follow up of the Entrepreneurship Summit in Washington DC held in April last year.

“There will be no set issue that we will focus on during the meeting. It will be more talking about entrepreneurship as a whole. How to develop it and especially how to start it up," Mari said as quoted by tribunnews.com on Wednesday.

Indonesia is the second-largest country that sent delegations to the Entrepreneurship Summit in Washington DC.

The Regional Entrepreneurship Summit is held in cooperation with Global Entrepreneurship Program Indonesia, the Trade Ministry and Global Entrepreneurship Program from the US State Department.

Some 200 delegations from ASEAN countries, and India and China are expected to attend the event, which will feature famous speakers such as US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Google Inc. Chairman Dr. Eric Schmidt, who will give a key note address.

The event will also present Faculty Member of UC Berkley and CEO of Bitzer Mobile Naeem Zafar, CEO of Wave Dispersion Technologies Jonathan Smith, Co-Founder of IBEKA Tri Mumpuni, Rector of Paramadina University Anies Baswedan, founder and President Director of PT Susi Air Susi Pudjiastuti, Global Chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young Jim Turley, and President Director of PT. Bank Mandiri Tbk Zulkifli Zaini.

Related Article:

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RI foreign ministry holds Asia-Africa film festival

Bandung, West Java (ANTARA news) - The Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry in association with Asian and African embassies will hold an Asia Africa Film Festival featuring 14 films from Iraq, Uzbekistan, India, Bangladesh, Algeria, Kenya, South Korea, China, Japan, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Indonesia from December 6 to 8, 2007 at the same time in Bandung, Medan, Gorontalo, and Balikpapan.

Public Information and Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andri Hadi said when opening the festival at the Merdeka Building in Bandung on Wednesday that this was the very first event of the kind held in Indonesia.

"It is a follow up of the New Asian-African Stategic Partnership (NAASP) declaration issued during the 2005 Summit in the West Java provincial capital which also called on increased social and cultural cooperation," he said.

During this event, the concept of people to people contacts are expected to foster relations among the peoples of Asia and Africa.

"We hope by way of these films which will be shown in the four cities in Indonesia could also be enjoyed by the younger generation so that they would become more familiar with the socio-cultural aspects and history of the peoples of Asia and Africa by way of entertainment media," he said.

Andri said the 14 movie pictures will be about socio-cultural affairs, history, nationalism and education.

The 14 films include Semayawi Ferese (Ethiophia), Mangal Panday (India), Joint Security Area (S Korea), The Clay Bird (Bangladesh), Chashma (Uzbekistan), The Overture (Thailand), King Kyansitt (Myanmar) and Together (China).

The other films are L`ennemi Intime (Algeria), Naga Bonar Jadi 2 (Indonesia), Africa`s Dilema (Help) (Kenya), Nitaboh (Japan), Black Eyes (Iran) and Arumosam Vehi (Sri Lanka).

Movie film enthusiasts can enjoy the films in the Bandung Institute of Technology campus, Unpad in Jatinangor, Blitz Megaplex in Bandung, Medan state university, North Sumatra University in Medan, Tri Dharma University in Balikpapan and at State University of Gorontalo.

Korean dance group to close art summit

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A work by a Korean choreographer will close Art Summit Indonesia V 2007 at the Graha Bhakti Budayal hall at Taman Ismail Marzuki in Central Jakarta on Nov. 29 and 30.

The choreographer, Ahn Ae-soon, combines movements from traditional Korean dances and modern dance in her work The White Noise, which illustrates the daily pressures on modern society through a humorous lens.

A Korean Embassy counsellor, Yoon Moon-han, said Ahn Ae-soon thought that many people were insensitive to the sounds around them.

"However, people feel afraid if there is no sound," he said.

"White noise" is a term used to refer to a sound that blends all audible frequencies equally over the range of the frequency band. It neutralizes surrounding sounds and is often used to reduce general noise.

In Ae-soon's work, all sounds -- footsteps, water bubbling through a fountain, a pop song -- blend together.

Ahn has staged more than 70 performances in her home country and 30 performances abroad over the last 20 years. She is listed as one of Korea's best dancers in the Oxford Dictionary of Dance (2000).

ASI V 2007 will be The White Noise's second performance, said Yoon, after it was presented in Korea in January this year.

"This contemporary art is very rare for Indonesians and also Koreans who live in Indonesia. I hope people will come to appreciate the performance," he said.

The 70-minutes dance is divided into eight chapters and two intermissions, which are filled with animations.

ASI's chairperson for production Ratna Riantiarno said Ae-Soon's dancers will collaborate with 10 local dancers from Teater Indonesia.

"Our local dancers will help them enliven the atmosphere at the end of the show," she said.

"I guarantee the show will be spectacular and unique as the group brought a cargo-load of equipment, which includes a conveyor," she added.

Tickets are Rp 40,000 (about US$4.29) for members of the general public and Rp 20,000 ($2.14) for students.

Ratna said ASI was meant to introduce contemporary arts to Indonesians. "Many Indonesians think that contemporary arts are hard to understand, however, they don't need to understand the art. Just enjoy the show." (adt)

Jakarta to host tourism summit

Mustaqim Adamrah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Jakarta is set to host the Jakarta Tourism Summit from Nov. 6 to 9 in conjunction with Jakarta's sister cities.

Governor Fauzi Bowo said Friday the summit was aimed at creating a global tourism network and sharing insights among participating countries.

"We want to learn through the summit what big cities in the world have to improve their tourism sectors," he said at City Hall after a meeting with a number of city officials.

"There will be a Jakarta declaration after the summit concludes."

For the four-day summit, the administration would cooperate with urban tourism networking international organizations.

Those organizations include the Council for Promotion of Tourism In Asia, ASEAN Network of Major Cities 21, Tourist Promotion Organization for Asia Pacific Cities and United Nations World Tourism Organization, according to an official website, http://jts2007.com.

Fauzi said the summit would feature an exhibition and speakers including Indonesian former tourism minister Joop Ave and the secretary general of Tourist Promotion Organization for Asia Pacific Cities.

According to city tourism agency head Yusuf Effendi Pohan, who attended the meeting, nine of the 18 sister cities Jakarta has been engaged with have confirmed their participation.

The confirming sister cities include Turkey's Istanbul, Thailand's Bangkok, Japan's Tokyo, the Netherlands' Rotterdam and South Korea's Seoul.

"Jakarta's tourism sector is still behind other big cities despite the huge potential we have," said Yusuf.

One major obstacle in improving the tourism sector, he said, was the limited budget for promotions which sits at Rp 15 billion (US$1.65 million) this year.

"Ideally, we need at least $10 per tourist arrival for our promotion budget," Yusuf.

"So, we'll need $15 million if we target 1.5 million in tourist arrivals."

The number of tourist arrivals in Jakarta slumped to the lowest point in 1999 to 981,183 as a result of 1998's political and financial crises.

Numbers are slowly rising and figures reached 1,235,514 in 2005 and some 1.24 million last year.

Yusuf said the summit was also meant to show other countries that Jakarta was "conducive".

"Jakarta, which has been a destination for many businesspeople, has the most complete facilities for MICE -- meeting, intensive tour, convention and exhibition -- compared to other cities in Indonesia."

Yusuf said businessmen accounted for 70 percent of a total of 1.24 million in tourist arrivals in Jakarta last year.

"I'm sure this year's figures will surpass last year's as we (have) already recorded some 800,000 in tourist arrivals as of September," he said.

Yusuf said the administration was also targeting a surge in tourist arrivals from India, China and Middle East countries "in years to come, as a long-term consequence of the summit".