SBY, Bush to meet in Sydney

9/5/2007

JAKARTA : Indonesian President Susilo BambangYudhoyono will hold talks with U.S. President George W. Bush in Sydney on Saturday on the sidelines of an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, a presidential spokesman said.

"The two leaders will discuss the issues of climate change as well as bilateral, regional and international relations," Dino Patti Djalal said at the State Palace on Wednesday.

But he added the two countries were in the middle of finalizing the agenda of the meeting.

"The issue of climate change will certainly be high on the agenda of the meeting as Indonesia has a great interest in addressing the issue of climate change with regard to the global warming threat, while the U.S. is one of the countries initiating efforts to address the issue," he said.

He said the U.S. plan to include the issue of climate change in the agenda of a major economists meeting to be held in Washington DC on Sept. 27 reflected the U.S. attention to the global warming threat.

"In the major economists meeting initiated by the U.S., (the organizing committee) will invite Indonesia as a country plays an important role in climate change diplomacy," he said.

Asked to comment on an allegation that the Sept. 27 meeting was part of U.S. attempts to postpone the UN climate change meeting to be held in Bali in December 2007, Dino said he did not see any truth in the allegation.

"I did not say so. From our communication with the U.S. officials including those visiting Indonesia to extend Bush's invitation (to the Sept. 27 meeting) there has been synergy in that the issue of climate change should be brought up for discussion in theAPEC meeting in Sydney, the annual UN session in New York and the UN climate change meeting in Bali," he said.