"President Yudhoyono is expected to officially open CEAPAD II, as Indonesia is the host of the conference," Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General of Information and Public Diplomacy AM Fachir said during the press briefing on CEAPAD II, here, on Wednesday.
Palestines Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech ahead of the ministerial meeting of CEAPAD II.
Fachir noted that Indonesia was building up a synergy to provide support for the Palestinian state-building effort and was emphasizing the importance of involving the private sector in this effort.
Indonesia will also hold a business meeting and trade expo on the sidelines of the CEAPAD II meeting, in cooperation with the Middle East branch of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The meeting is expected to gather together 40 Palestinian businessmen and aims to increase the participation of the private sector in boosting Palestines economic development.
Fachir added that as one of the co-chairs of CEAPAD II with Japan and Palestine, Indonesia expects the CEAPAD II participants to present a concrete contribution to Palestines capacity building program based on the countrys critical needs, including solutions for the agricultural, tourism, information and communication technology, and light manufacturing sectors.
To date, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Palestine, and the United Arab Emirates have confirmed their attendance at the CEAPAD II meeting in Jakarta. Among the participating international organizations are Japan International Cooperation Agency, Islamic Development Bank, the World Bank, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the Arab League, and The Quartet Office (UK).
The first meeting of CEAPAD was held in Tokyo, Japan, on February 13-14, 2013. The meeting was co-chaired by Japan and Palestine and was attended by representatives from 10 CEAPAD member countries---Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Palestine, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, and Vietnam---as well as some international organizations, including UNRWA, the Arab League and the World Bank. (*)
Reporter: Azi Fitriyanti
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2014
