SBY to head to G-20 Summit in Seoul on Thursday

After days of indecision, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says he will head to South Korea to represent Indonesia at the G-20 summit in Seoul.

Yudhoyono said he had held off making the decision about his attendance because he wanted to make sure the disaster relief efforts were in order for the recent eruptions of Mount Merapi, and the tsunami in the Mentawai islands.

The President is scheduled to depart for Seoul from Jakarta’s Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta at 11.30 a.m. on Thursday, after granting hero and honorary medals to a number of Indonesians at a ceremony to commemorate the Nov. 10 Heroes’ Day at the State Palace.

As of Wednesday night, Yudhoyono had not said whether he would attend the G-20 summit or the APEC Summit in Yokohama, Japan.

Then, after a closed-door meeting late on Wednesday evening, the decision that Yudhoyono would attend the summit was announced to journalists.

Vice President Boediono had earlier been preparing to represent Indonesia at the summit, and was readying to leave Jakarta for Seoul on Wednesday evening, but Yudhoyono canceled his departure at the last minute.