MINISTER : ASIA PACIFIC SHOULD JOINTLY DEAL WITH GLOBAL CRISIS

Denpasar, Bali Province, Nov. 13 (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for the People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie called on countries in Asia and the Pacific to jointly deal with the current global financial crisis to prevent it from impacting on the people's welfare.

Speaking at the opening of an East-West Center Association (EWCA) 2008 International Conference here on Thursday, Bakrie said , "I hope that during this meeting, the participants will share experiences and try to find solution to the crisis so that it will not affect the people."
The theme of the conference taking place from November 13 to 15, is "Building an Asia-Pacific Community: Unity in Diversity".
The minister said the unity framework must be built without considering from which countries the peoples come from, but the most important thing was how to cope with the global crisis so that it would not get worse, he said.
Meanwhile, Director of the Indonesian International Education Foundation Dr Irid Agoes said that some 500 people from Asia and the Pacific countries were participating in the EWCA Conference.
The East-West Center and East-West Center Association represent over 55,000 government, business, and educational professionals throughout Asia, the Pacific, and the United States.
Speakers for the program will include East-West Center President Charles E. Morrison, and other leaders from government, education, and business sectors.
The conference will explore major issues facing the region such as international relations, security issues, democracy and Islam, global warming.