Already a day late, the President will have to catch up with other leaders at the two-day summit, which officially began on Thursday morning, as he decided to join them on Friday.

“I’ll be in full attendance all day along with other members of the Indonesian delegation at the peak of the G20 Summit [Friday],” Yu-dhoyono told a press conference at the State Palace two hours before he left for Seoul.

A press statement issued by the Palace earlier Thursday said the President decided to go ahead with plans to attend the summit due to the improving situation at Mount Merapi.

The President is accompanied by, among others, Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa, State Secretary Sudi Silalahi and National Economics Committee head Chairul Tandjung, Antara news agency
reported.

Yudhoyono was earlier scheduled to leave Jakarta on Wednesday for Seoul but delayed his departure as he waited for further developments on the eruptions on Mt. Merapi, leaving uncertain his agenda as of late Wednesday.

He said earlier at the Palace before leaving Jakarta that he had sent Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa and Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu, among others, to represent him in the first retreat session on the global economy on Thursday evening.

From Seoul, the President is scheduled to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Yokohama, Japan, on Saturday.

The G20 Summit will address current account imbalances and will extend to development, anticorruption and climate change.

Yudhoyono said in one of the sessions at the summit he would be a “lead speaker” in a discussion on development.

“This year’s G20 Summit will highlight an important topic on development, which is very important for developing countries such as Indonesia because we don’t want the global economy to develop unbalanced and unfairly, inconsiderate to problems faced by developing countries,” he said at the press conference.

“[Development] will be discussed for the first time and thank God Indonesia will be given a role. I will be a lead speaker at a session at the G20 Summit [Friday] discussing important development issues.”

Yudhoyono said South Korean President Lee Myung-bak had especially called him on Wednesday evening asking him to attend the summit and support the interests of developing nations by playing an active role in the development talks.

The Seoul summit will also discuss the topic of maritime security, which Yudhoyono said was very relevant to the interests of Indonesia as the world’s largest archipelago.

From Seoul, the President will head to Yokohama, Japan, to attend the first session of the APEC
Summit on Saturday and host bilateral meetings on the sidelines before returning to Jakarta in the
afternoon.

But Yudhoyono will cut short his visit in Yokohoma from two days to only one, saying he was still concerned about the situation at Mt. Merapi.

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

“Although everything is being taken care of in Yogyakarta and Central Java, and the BNPB [National Disaster Mitigation Agency] is doing its job, I cannot leave the country for too long given this sort of situation,” Yudhoyono said.

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