RI TO ENCOURAGE ECONOMIC COOPERATION THROUGH WEF

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Jan 23 (ANTARA) - Indonesia is expected to promote its economic achievements at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, later this month, where top business executives, international political leaders and selected intellectuals are to discuss and shape agendas of global and regional industries.          Indonesia whose economy was relatively strong in the face of global financial crisis in the past several years will send to the forum a delegation to be directly led by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.          "The presence of the president in the WEF when world economic players meet there will give Indonesia a chance to introduce various progresses it has made, including justice-based economic development," Teuku Faizasyah, the presidential special staff for international relations, said over the weekend.          The president who will be accompanied Mrs Ani Yudhoyono and several ministers such as Chief Economic Minister Hatta Radjasa, Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo, Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa and Investment Board chief Gita Wirjawan will speak at a number of forums during the 41st WEF meeting which will take place on January 26-31, 2011.          During the forum, Indonesia hopes that it would be able to conclude cooperation with other countries.          "Indonesia will use this year's WEF to increase cooperation between Indonesia and other countries. We will also make use of the meeting to attract more investors to Indonesia," Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said.          She said President Yudhoyono in January 27 or second day of WEF event in Davos-Klosters was scheduled to deliver a speech about trade and development. "President Yudhoyono is one among five speakers scheduled to deliver speech during the meeting," she said.          The 41st World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland will take the theme of Shared Norms for the Reality. Over the five-day Meeting, over 2,500 leaders from over 100 countries will convene in Davos-Klosters, representing business, government, civil society, academies and culture.          The theme of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting has four interconnected pillars namely responding to the new reality, the economic outlook and defining policies for inclusive growth, supporting the G20 agenda and building a risk response network.          Yudhoyono who will attend the WEF for the first time will deliver a special speech at the Energy Summit With the World's Top Energy CEOs. He will also open "Indonesia Co Night: Celebrating the Spirit of Collaboration and Cooperation, organized in cooperation between the Indonesian government and the WEF.           The president is also expected to become a speaker in the WEF's International Business Council (IBC) and International Media Council (IMC) forums in two plenary sessions. He will speak about redefinition of sustainable development and trade.           A major focus of this year's meeting will be how to deal with global risks, develop risk mitigation strategies and capture related opportunities.          The World Economic Forum will present its Risk Response Network at the Annual Meeting, which will serve as a preparatory, analytical and highly practical framework for the global community in the service of improving global risk management.          The Risk Response Network is a platform designed to better understand, manage and respond to complex, interdependent risk.          According to Teuku Faizasyah,  President Yudhoyono during the events  is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with French President Nicholas Sarkozy, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines of the forum on January 27-29.          He said that the president would also met with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, Envoy for the Middle East Tony Blair and a number of other heads of state/heads of government.          Minister Mari E Pangestu, after attending the WEF's 41st meeting, Indonesia will host  the WEF on East Asia on June 13-13, 2011.          "We will take advantage of it because we will also host ASEAN Summit in October this year to put Indonesia in the role of leadership in ASEAN and East Asia region," Mari said.          She said it would be the first for Indonesia to host WEF after its neighbor countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Japan have ever been trusted to be the organizing committees.          "It will be the first time for us to host the World Economic Forum, and we hope Indonesia will take a leadership role and become the central power in Southeast Asia and East Asian region," Mari said.          After all, Indonesia will chair the ASEAN summit this year. "Since the central world trade is in Asia, Indonesia is expected to be able to make use the chance as the chairman of ASEAN Summit 2011 as well as it is the biggest country among ASEAN member countries," she said.           The minister said two-thirds of the world's economic growth was fueled by the economies of  ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member countries.          "Two-thirds of the world's economic growth  is being supported by the economies of ASEAN member countries and this only shows the importance of ASEAN and East Asia in the global context," the minister said.           Mari said East Asia's  gross domestic product (GDP) was equal to Europe's and the United States' 14.6 trillion US dollars.           Thus, global issues related to commodity prices volatility, food resilience, and energy resilience would be among the topics of discussion at the WEF forum in June.          "The topics of discussion will be the same as that during WEF in Davos, and it will be a challenge for the government, business world, and private party to step up the industry, investment, and technology -- especially agriculture and climate change technology to face with extreme climate change," Mari said.      (T.A014/ H-NG/f001  ) 23-01-2011 18:44