Britain and Indonesia ink deals on trade, defence, education

Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron shakes hands with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed a string of agreements on trade, defence and education on Thursday, the British government said.

“They had constructive discussions on a number of subjects, with the focus on the UK-Indonesian trade and investment relationship,” said a spokeswoman for Cameron’s Downing Street office.

On the second day of Yudhoyono’s state visit to Britain, aimed at boosting ties with the emerging Asian power, the two leaders and Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf also chaired talks in London on global efforts to fight poverty.

The Downing Street spokeswoman said Cameron and Yudhoyono had sealed a defence deal which would boost cooperation in “research and development, investment and production”.

They also announced a £7.5 billion ($12.1 billion, 9.3 billion-euro) deal for BP to develop liquid natural gas in Indonesia, and signed an agreement strengthening links between the two countries’ universities.

Cameron’s spokeswoman added that while he had praised Yudhoyono for “his leading role in Indonesia’s transition from autocracy to a vibrant democracy”, the pair had discussed the protection of human rights in regions such as Papua.

The two leaders and Johnson Sirleaf had earlier chaired a panel of politicians from 26 countries charged with developing an anti-poverty strategy after the Millennium Development Goals expire in 2015.

The eight goals, established in 2000, set targets on improving education, health and women’s rights, ending hunger, and protecting the environment.

Cameron said he believed world leaders now had a real opportunity to eradicate poverty.

“That is something politicians have been talking about for a while — but for the first time I believe this generation really has the opportunity to do it,” he said after the meeting.

“We think the Millennium Development Goals have made great progress. There’s more progress to be made between now and 2015, but we’re clear the next stage should be aiming to eradicate absolute poverty in our world completely.”

The panel is meeting for three days in London, the second of four rounds of talks before it reports back to UN Secretary General in May next year.

On Friday, the final day of Yudhoyono’s state visit, he will address officials at the Foreign Office and meet with Indonesian business figures.

Queen Elizabeth II hosted a glittering banquet in honour of Yudhoyono and his wife Ani on Wednesday night, after formally welcoming them with a guard of honour and a ride in her ceremonial carriage.

Source: AFP

Indonesian president in Britain for state visit

Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono begins a three-day state visit to Britain on Wednesday, with officials keen to impress the emerging Asian power with a display of pomp and pageantry.

Queen Elizabeth II is scheduled to formally welcome Yudhoyono and his wife Ani on Wednesday afternoon with a guard of honour on Horse Guards Parade, before accompanying them to Buckingham Palace in a horse-drawn carriage.

The Indonesian leader and his wife will stay at the palace, where the 86-year-old monarch is hosting a lavish state banquet in their honour on Wednesday evening.

“As well having one of the world’s most thriving economies, Indonesia is in the vanguard of the political change shaping Asia,” Foreign Secretary William Hague told parliament on Tuesday.

“This visit will be an opportunity for us to build on the strong partnership established over the last decade.”

The president will hold talks with Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday and attend a meeting of the high-level United Nations panel that is drawing up a strategy on how to build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Yudhoyono, who is the world’s only head of state to have served as a UN peacekeeper, will also give a speech at the Royal College of Defence Studies.

The 15th-century Guildhall, in London’s financial district, will host a second banquet on Thursday night.

Several trade announcements are expected during the three-day trip, with Britain keen to gain access to Indonesia’s fast-growing economy and 240 million consumers.

The state visit is part of Britain’s drive to boost its diplomatic presence in Southeast Asia, with Indonesia regarded by officials as the most influential player in the region.

As the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, it is also seen as a strategic ally in the Islamic world.

“Indonesia is far and away the most important country in ASEAN,” said a Foreign Office source.

Officials also see Indonesia as a potential future host for foreign campuses of its universities, similar to Malaysia where several British universities including Nottingham, Southampton and Newcastle have outposts.

Britain usually hosts two state visits each year, but Yudhoyono is the only foreign head of state to receive the formal hospitality in 2012 following months of diamond jubilee celebrations marking the queen’s 60th year on the throne.

The last state visit was by Turkish President Abdullah Gul in November last year.

Source: MSN News

“Flying Health Care” for Indonesia’s Papuans

Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih has announced the creation of the “Flying Health Care” program to improve access to health care services for the population in the Indonesia easternmost province of Papua.

“The improvement of access to health services through the Flying Health Care program is part of the Health Ministry’s 2012-2014 Plan of Action,” said Endang said Tuesday (21/02).

She pointed out that within the program’s Plan of Action was the implementation of the Health-care Guarantee and Improvement of Access to Health Services through Flying Health Care for Papuans, which begins in 2012.

The minister noted that the extensive land mass of Papua, with its population scattered throughout valleys and mountainous areas, made the Flying Health Care program necessary for delivering health care to the population.

“Geographic conditions makes it difficult for Papua province, with a population of only 2.8 million, to have adequate health services at clinics and hospitals, and therefore the Flying Health Care program is necessary for the people in the province,” Endang said.

She noted that besides the Flying Health Care program, the Ministry of Health had other new programs to improve the access to health services in the province in a bid to raise access to public health.

Endang admitted that maternal and infant mortality rates, and the prevalence of severe malnutrition, remained high in Papua.

“Although we have been providing medical services to the people of Papua for several decades, in reality we have to work even harder and smarter,” the minister noted.

To improve access to health services in Papua, Endang said the Ministry of Health has drafted the Plan of Action for 2012-2014 which is made up of various health-related activities.

She said some of the activities included the acceleration of reaching Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), intensification of eradication of non-communicable and infectious diseases, and the operation of village malaria eradication centers.

Source: Kompas