VICE PRESIDENT BOEDIONO ARRIVES IN WASHINGTON

New York, April 12 (ANTARA) - Indonesian Vice President Boediono arrived in Washington Sunday morning local time to attend the Nuclear Security Summit to be hosted by US President Barack Obama on April 12 and 13, 2010.

The vice president and entourage arrived at Dulles international airport in Washington by an Ana Air commercial aircraft at 10.40 am.

They were greeted by Charge d'Affaires ad interim of the Indonesian embassy in Washington Salman Al Farisi and his wife, Defense Attache Brig Gen Abdul Chasib, and US protocol officials.

Boediono later in the evening met with members of the Indonesian community in Washington, Maryland, Virginia and surroundings.

The Indonesian delegation included Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Darwin Zahedy Saleh, and Head of the Investment Coordinating Agency (BKPM) Gita Wirjawan, but they arrived in the American capital by different flights.
On Monday (Apr 12), the Indonesian vice president will attend a lunch hosted by his US counterpart Joe Biden for the chief delegates of the Non-Aligned Movement member countries.

Later in the evening, Boediono will attend the Nuclear Security Summit at a dinner to be hosted by President Barack Obama.

The talks will continue on Tuesday (Apr 13) morning until the afternoon at Walter E. Washington Convention Center attended by high-ranking officials from 46 different countries.

While in Washington, Boediono is also scheduled to meet American businesspeople and address a dinner held by the America-Indonesia community (Usindo) Tuesday night.

On Wednesday (Apr 4) morning Boediono and entourage will leave for New York at 3 pm by car.

On the same day Boediono will attend the launching of a report on the MDGs by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in the field of infant death rate and mother's health improvement.

The launching ceremony will be followed by a press conference at the Dag Hammarskjold Auditorium at the UN Headquarters, featuring the UN secretary general, Vice President Boediono, WHO Director General, Norwegian Prime Minister and Tanzanian President as speakers.

Boediono and entourage were slated to leave New York for Jakarta on Wednesday night.

The Nuclear Security Summit in Washington will focus on efforts on preventing arms from falling into the hands of terrorists.

The summit is also aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear arms and technology.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said last week that besides Indonesia, other countries taking part in the summit include the four permanent members of the UN Security Council -- the US, France, the UK, and Russia -- Germany, Belgium, Canada, Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland, Norway, Italy, Israel, India, Pakistan, Australia, Japan, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates.
It will also be attended by members of the United Nations, the European Union, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).