Yudhoyono to skip US-ASEAN summit in NY

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will likely skip the US-ASEAN summit to be held on the sidelines of the UN meeting in New York on Sept. 24, the Foreign Ministry says.

Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said the President had already made “earlier commitments” and did not plan to attend the UN General Assembly meeting in New York from Sept. 20-28. “Vice President [Boediono] will most likely be in attendance,” he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Teuku was quick to dismiss speculation the President may have decided not to visit the US after US President Barack Obama called off his planned visits to Indonesia — where he spent part of his childhood — this year.

“President Yudhoyono has items on the national agenda that could not be set aside,” Faizasyah said, adding that the invitation to the summit was given at short notice.