President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is on a three-day visit to South Korea’s Juju Island to attend the 20th anniversary of ASEAN-South Korean relations days after North Korea’s latest missile test, which has led to global condemnation. The test, which threatens the security of the Korean Peninsula, will likely overshadow the summit of ASEAN leaders with South Korean President Lee Myun-bak. In an attempt to show the administration’s unity, Yudhoyono and his wife Ani Yudhoyono were seen off by Vice President Jusuf Kalla and his wife Mufidah Jusuf Kalla at Halim Perdanakusumah airport in Jakarta on Sunday. Yudhoyono and Kalla will compete for presidency in the July 8 election. The President is scheduled to return to Indonesia on Tuesday, when he will officially begin his campaign. Presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said in a statement that besides attending the ASEAN-ROK (Republic of Korea) Commemorative Summit on June 1-2, Yudhoyono will hold bilateral meetings with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tam Dung. “President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s attendance at the ASEAN-ROK Summit signifies that South Korea is an important as well as strategic friend and partner of ASEAN, particularly Indonesia,” Dino said. “The high-level summit will further enhance the relationship between the ASEAN and South Korean communities during the 21st Century,” he added. The summit, which will be largely focused on economic issues, is being held amid tight security, after North Korea carried out its second nuclear and a series of short-range missile tests over the past week. Beside a possible joint statement on a North Korean missile test, expected outcomes of the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit will include a statement on economic ties and an agreement on investment. South Korea supports ASEAN’s attempts to build the Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality (Zopfan) and a nuclear-free zone in the Southeast Asian region. ASEAN, in return, supports South Korea’s efforts to solve the North Korea issue through peaceful measures within the frame of the Six-Party Talks, which involve South Korea, North Korea, China, Japan, the United States and Russia. South Korea and ASEAN signed the Joint Declaration for Cooperation to Combat International Terrorism in 2005. In the field of trade, South Korea and ASEAN have enjoyed a significant increase over the last five years. In 2004, two-way trade was valued at US$46.4 billion and in 2008 the figure almost doubled to $90.2 billion. Investment in ASEAN by Korea has similarly increased from $1.3 billion in 2004 to $5.8 billion in 2008.
Author: Erwida Maulia, The Jakarta Post Indonesia Today
Author: Erwida Maulia, The Jakarta Post Indonesia Today
