SBY's G-20, APEC attendance cut short

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says he will shorten his attendance at the G-20 summit in South Korea and APEC summit in Japan over concerns about Mount Merapi.

Yudhoyono was originally scheduled to attend the G-20 Summit’s Thursday and Friday sessions, but since he had only decided to resume his attendance plan at the last minute, he could only arrive in Seoul on Thursday evening.

Yudhoyono said he had sent Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa and Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu, among others, to represent him at the first retreat session on the global economy on Thursday evening.

“But, during the main part of the G-20 Summit tomorrow, I'll be in full attendance from morning to afternoon along with other members of the Indonesian delegation,” Yudhoyono said at the Presidential Office just two hours before his departure to Seoul.

From Seoul, Yudhoyono is scheduled to head to Yokohama, Japan, to attend the first session of the APEC Summit and several bilateral meetings on Saturday, before returning to Jakarta in the afternoon.

Vice President Boediono would represent him fully on the second day of the APEC Summit, which would see country members launch a joint declaration, he said.

“While things are working in Yogyakarta and Central Java, and the National Disaster Mitigation Agency is doing its job, I cannot leave the country too long in this sort of situation,” Yudhoyono said, referring to the two regions worst affected by Mount Merapi’s recent eruptions.