NTB GOVERNOR TO ACCOMPANY PRESIDENT ON OVERSEAS VISITS

Matara, March 6 (ANTARA) - West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Governor Zainul Majdi will accompany President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the latter's visit to Australia and Papua New Guinea from March 10 to 12, 2010.

"Governor Zainul Majdi will be among President Yudhoyono's entourage during the visit to Australian and Papua New Guinea," NTB provincial administration spokesman Lalu Mohammad Faozal said here on Saturday.

Faozal said a fax with Minister/State Secretary Sudi Silalahi's signature on it which was received by NTB provincial administration said that while in Australia, President Yudhoyono would visit two places namely Sydney and Canberra.

But the fax did not mention the locations in Papua New Guiniea where the president and his entourage would visit.

"The agenda of the visit was not mentioned in the fax but it was predicted to deal with primary programs of respective provinces in the eastern party of Indonesia," Faozal said.

He said NTB found it necessary for its governor to visit Sydney and Canberra with President Yudhoyono because the two areas in Australia were very potential in animal husbandry sector, while the West Nusa Tenggara was currently trying to implement the Land with One Million Cows program in 2012.

"The governor will certainly take the benefit from Canberra and Sydney to develop in NTB," Faozal said.

But he added that before the governor left for overseas visit with the president, Deputy Governor Badrul Munir who currently in China should have returned to the province.

The deputy governor of NTB has been in China to attend World Marble Fair from March 6-7, 2010, and was scheduled to return to NTB March 8, 2010.

In the visit to China, the NTB deputy governor was accompanied by three Bima municipal officials to promote the potential of Bima marble in Sumbawa island.

Marble deposit in Bima is predicted to reach 50 million cubic with the production potential of 95,000 cubic meter per year.

Foreign investors in the past had intention to develop the marble potential in Bima but it was hampered by technical matter and remained unrealized to date.