33 State Leaders Comfirm Attendnace AAC 2015

By Azi Fitriyanti Jakarta (Antara) -- As many as 33 Asian and African state leaders have confirmed their attendance at the 60th Asian-African Conference (AAC) with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The events will be held in Jakarta and Bandung, West Java, from April 22 to 24. The Head of Intra-Regional Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific and African Sub-Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ferdy Piay, said during a press briefing here on Thursday that we can consider the total count of state leaders who will be attending the AAC as 34 as the Japanese leader sent a strong indication of attendance. \"However, Japan has yet to confirm officially. Despite giving a strong indication of attendance, we expect the Japanese leader to participate as Japan and Indonesia have close ties,\" Piay stated. The heads of states of Brunei Darussalam, Jordan, Swaziland, China, North Korea, Iran, Madagascar, Malawi, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, Namibia, South Africa, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe will be attending the 60th AAC. Excluding Japan, the heads of governments who confirmed their attendance are those of Bangladesh, Cambodia, Egypt, Gabon, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, Rwanda, Singapore, and Thailand. In addition, officials from the vice president and deputy prime minister\'s level from Algeria, Angola, Liberia, Philippines, Seychelles, Zambia, Azerbaijan, South Korea, and Laos will be participating in the event. The 60th AAC will also be attended by representatives of six international and multilateral organizations, including the African Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Asian Development Bank, the Arab League, the South Center, and the United Nations. \"We expect the secretary generals of all these organizations, including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, to be available to attend the conference,\" Piay noted. Altogether, some 3,600 participants, including state leaders (heads of states and governments), ministerial level officials, representatives of international organizations, and delegation members, will attend the series of events commemorating the 60th AAC in Jakarta and Bandung from April 19 to 24. \"The number of participants may rise in the last days before the event,\" Piay pointed out.(*)