LEADERS' BILATERAL TALKS MARK FIRST DAY OF APEC SUMMIT

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Oct 7 (Antara) - The two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit was opened by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday, as the first day was marked by bilateral meetings among APEC economic leaders.          In his opening address, President Yudhoyono stressed the importance of APEC's role in the development of the region's economy amid today's uncertain economic conditions.          "APEC is increasingly playing an important role in the economic recovery of the Asia-Pacific region. The Asia-Pacific economy will maintain global economic growth," added the president.          Prior to the opening of the summit, President Yudhoyono, who was accompanied by First Lady Ani Yudhoyono, officially greeted the leaders of the 21 APEC member economies on Monday at 8:20 a.m. local time.          Leaders present during Yudhoyono's greeting included Australia's Tony Abbott; Brunei Darussalam's Hasanal Bolkiah; the President of Chile, Sebastian Pinera; the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, C.Y. Leung; Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak; Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe;, the President of Peru, Ollanta Humala; the President of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto; the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper; the President of China, Xi Jinping; New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key; and the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Peter Charles Paire O'Neill.

RI EAGER TO BECOME REGIONAL POWER THROUGH APEC

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Oct 5 (Antara) - What benefit can Indonesia reap in hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Nusa Dua, Bali, after Indonesia spent some Rp365 billion from the state budget to host the international event?     How far can APEC extend its role in supporting the country's economic and trade growth, when many countries are reinforcing their own domestic economies as a result of the on-going economic meltdowns?     "We want to leave traditional markets far behind, as there are many weaknesses there. We want to expand international cooperation. More open trade will benefit Indonesia," Arto Suryodipuro, director for Intra Asia-Pacific and Africa Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters on Thursday, as quoted by ekonomibisnis.suarasurabaya.net online media.          He said that today is no longer an era for Indonesia to continuously depend upon traditional products and traditional markets, but the country had to expand its market destinations with different products.          In developing its product diversification, Indonesia has to expand its economic cooperation and set its targeted markets. After all, about 56 percent of trade and business deals in the world are conducted in the Asia Pacific region, which hosts 40 percent of the world population.

RI MUST TAP ECONOMIC BENEFIT FROM APEC EVENTS

BY Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Sept 28 (Antara) - Indonesia must exploit the potential of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), with its 21 economies controlling about 50 percent of world trade and contributes 56 percent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP).          "For Indonesia, APEC is an important economic grouping. It has to increase, or at least keep its exports to the region from decreasing," Trade Deputy Minister Bayu Krisnamurthi said on Friday.          The value of Indonesia's exports to countries grouped in APEC reached US$140 billion, accounting for about 69.8 percent of total Indonesian exports.  "Yet, we still suffer a deficit of US$7 billion in our trade with them. We should take this into account," noted Bayu.          Since the APEC region hosts 40 percent, or about 2.8 billion, of the world population, about 55-60 percent of the world trade volume is controlled by APEC economies.          Thus, Indonesia, which is hosting the APEC leaders' summit in Bali next week, should benefit from the regional economic cooperation and work to guarantee that its economic growth is maintained.          "We should assure that it will help us maintain our economic growth. We should continue to play an active role so that policies to be taken during the APEC talks will live up to our interests," Bayu Krisnamurthi said.

SECURITY TIGHTENED FOR APEC SUMMIT IN BALI

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Sept 27 (Antara) - The Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) and National Police have begun deploying personnel and equipment to secure the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Bali next week.          At least 15 warships have been deployed in the waters off Bali, while the TNI and the National Police are planning to field at least 11 thousand personnel, apart from 16 Sukhoi fighter planes, F-16 fighter jets and M-17 warplanes.          Meanwhile, the Bali Regional Police is also launching operations prior to the summit's opening  in an effort to prevent incidents in the run-up to the APEC Summit, which will last from October 1 to 8, 2013.          "We have been launching a precondition and a prevention operation, specifically carried out by the Bali Regional Police personnel," Bali Regional Police Chief Brig, Gen. Albertus Julius Benny Mokalu said in Jakarta on Friday.

BALI READY TO HOST APEC SUMMIT 2013

Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Sept 16 (Antara) - The Indonesian tourist resort Island of Bali has nearly finished preparations to host delegates from the 21 member-countries at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit during the first week of October.         "We are almost finished making preparations. About 80 percent of the preparations have been completed," National Economic Committee (KEN) Chairman Chairul Tanjung, who is also the deputy chairman of the APEC steering committee, said when attending a coordination meeting for the APEC summit preparations in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Sunday.          President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono led the meeting and later inspected the preparations for the APEC summit on Sunday. The meeting was held at the Nusa Dua Hall of the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center (BNDCC), the venue of the October APEC event.         The President said he hoped that Indonesia would serve as the best-ever host for the APEC summit, which will be held October 1 to 9, 2013.         Gatot Dewa Broto, the head of the Public Relations and Information Center of the Ministry of Communications and Informatics, which is a member of the APEC organizing committee, said about 90 percent of the physical preparations have been completed.          He added that telecommunications infrastructure facilities were also ready for use during the summit, which expects delegates from 21 countries, along with 1,200 business leaders.