REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- At least 25 heads of state and government have so far confirmed their attendance at the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Asia-Africa Conference, Indonesian Presidential Chief of Staff Luhut Panjaitan stated.
"President Joko Widodo briefed us at the cabinet meeting on Monday that the Japanese prime minister and China's president had confirmed their planned presence," he informed journalists after meeting President Joko Widodo here, Tuesday.
However, the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was not among the 25 world figures who had confirmed their plan to attend the event scheduled to be held in Jakarta and Bandung, West Java, on April 19-24.
"We have yet to receive any confirmation about whether or not the North Korean leader will be present," he noted.
Regarding the preparation stage for convening the conference, he revealed that it has so far been on the right track, and the organizing committee plans to examine its final readiness on April 16 in Jakarta and April 17 in Bandung, the capital city of West Java Province, he affirmed.
When questioned about the content of the conference documents, Panjaitan stated that the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs was handling that matter.
"In the near future, the conference materials will be ready," he said.
Regarding the Declaration on Palestine to be issued at the commemorative conference, he remarked that it was the Indonesian Government's proposal and was also promised by President Joko Widodo during last year's presidential election campaign.
"I have yet to know about the latest development on this matter. But, this is our government's proposal and President Joko Widodo has also promised that. Therefore, it is very important for us to support the Palestinian independence and its membership in the United Nations," he affirmed.
The main objective of this year's commemorative conference is to showcase Indonesia's leadership since 1955.
"We have stood in the list of 16 big economies of the world and have great potential to become the sixth- or seventh-biggest economy within ten or 15 years from now," he added.
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