PRESIDENT HOSTS BANQUET FOR STATE LEADERS ATTENDING CTI SUMMIT

Manado, May 14 (ANTARA) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Madame Ani Yudhoyono held a banquet for the heads of state/government attending the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) Summit here on Thursday evening.

Attended by around 250 delegates, the banquet was held at the Grand Kawanua Convention Center in Manado, North Sulawesi.

The heads of state/government attending the state banquet were Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Timur Lestr President Ramos Horta, Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Micheal Somare, Solomon Islands Prime Minister David Sikua and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Also present in the banquet were ambassadors from some friendly countries such as the United States, Poland and Tunisia.

The banquet was proceeded with the screening of video on the CTI: A call to Action.

Under a cooperation, six countries lain across in a 5.7 million squire meters sea territory agreed to coordinate the protection of their marine resources.

Over 120 million people directly depended on the God's gift in the form of the sea as a source of their food and income.

But such precious resources are now threatened by a climate change, over-catch of fish, illegal fishing, unsustainable coastal and pollution. These threats cause the availability of fish to decline, mangrove to disappear in a large scale and degradation of coral reef system to deteriorate.

In a few years to come, the countries in the world will have to cooperate with their partners to implement sea territory conservation strategy, sustainable marine management, the protection of special species in addition to adapting to a climate change.