Yudhoyono, entourage off to Paris

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono departed on Monday morning to France to attend a series of UNESCO meetings in Paris and the G-20 Summit in Cannes.

The President is accompanied by First Lady Ani Yudhoyono and several Cabinet ministers, as well as dozens of other state officials and reporters.

The presidential entourage left Halim Perdanakusumah Airport in East Jakarta aboard a Garuda Indonesia aircraft, and are scheduled to arrive back in Jakarta on Saturday afternoon.

Earlier, presidential spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said Yudhoyono was taking up an invitation from UNESCO to deliver a speech at the 10th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, in Paris.

Faizasyah said the invitation was given as a sign of UNESCO’s appreciation for Indonesia's efforts to protect and promote its cultural diversity as “living assets”.

The President is then scheduled to attend the G-20 Summit in Cannes, also in France, on Nov. 3-4.

“Indonesia will push the G-20 to further increase the global growth through the absorption of more workers and infrastructure developments,” Faizasyah said.

He added the President would engage in bilateral meetings with leaders of several countries on the sidelines of the UNESCO and G-20 meetings.