P

resident Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono kick-started on Thursday a 12-day trip to Portugal, the US and Japan, to attend a number of bilateral and multilateral meetings and events, including the UN General Assembly meeting, in his last round of overseas trips before leaving office on Oct. 20.

Yudhoyono left Jakarta for Lisbon on Thursday with Cabinet members and special staff, including Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, Coordinating Economic Minister Chairul Tanjung and Industry Minister MS Hidayat.

Yudhoyono, who is set to meet Portuguese President Cavaco da Silva and Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho in Lisbon, aims to cement ties between the two countries, particularly on the economic front.

'€œThere are opportunities in terms of what we can both do in the future,'€ Yudhoyono told a press conference.

The two countries will also sign bilateral agreements in energy and mineral resources.

He will end the 2-day state visit and fly to the US on Saturday, where he will visit New York and Washington DC on a 7-day visit before leaving for Kyoto, Japan. He will attend the 69th Session of the UN General Assembly and deliver a speech.

'€œI will give an address before the General Assembly, a farewell before guests there,'€ Yudhoyono added.

The President is also scheduled to lead a plenary meeting at the 2014 UN Climate Summit, delivering the opening speech for the Open Government Partnership High Level Event meeting and attend the Global Green Growth Leaders'€™ Gathering, where his candidacy as the president of the South Korean-based international organization, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), will be officially announced.

'€œGod willing, I am ready because the issue is important for Indonesia, particularly in terms of green growth development,'€ he said.

Recently, GGGI director-general Yvo de Boer paid a visit to Yudhoyono and announced that his organization had nominated him as its president for the next two years.

At that time, he said Yudhoyono fit the profile of a chairman for an organization that aimed to find a way to lift people, particularly those in developing countries, out of poverty and protect the environment at the same time.

In Washington DC, he is scheduled to inaugurate the Indonesian Muslim Association in America (IMAAM) Center and meet several Muslim American figures to discuss developments in the Middle East, particularly related to the Islamic State (IS) organization, also known as ISIL.

'€œFor Indonesia, a political solution, instead of a military operation, is important. That is what I will bring to talks with Muslim figures there,'€ Yudhoyono said.

The President will then visit Kyoto, Japan, where he will receive an honorary degree from Ritsumeikan University.