ASEAN Summit: Obama Expected in Bali

Kuta, Bali - United States President Barack Obama is scheduled to arrive in Bali on Thursday evening to attend the 19th ASEAN summit and other related summits in Nusa Dua resort. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will also arrive in Bali on Thursday. All preparations including security measures as of Thursday have been stepped up for the arrival of Obama and other heads of state/government for the summits. Security officials at Ngurah Rai airport and presidential security guards from Indonesia and the respective summit participating countries on Thursday morning were seen increasing coordination to ensure security for the arrival of heads of state/government of ASEAN partners. Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra arrived in Bali early on Thursday morning at 2.30 Central Indonesia Standard Time (Wita). "Starting from Thursday noon a number of heads of state/government of ASEAN partners will arrive here," Ngurah Rai Airport commander Let Col Jumarto said. Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will also arrive on Thursday afternoon. Related to the arrivals of the heads of state/government in Bali, both domestic and international airline companies at Ngurah Rai airport have to rearrange their scheduled departure and arrival of domestic and international flights. PT Angkasa Pura I General Manager at Ngurah Rai Airport Purwanto said the domestic and international flight schedules had been rearranged to avoid delays in the arrival of the heads of state/government. (*)