ID :
34969
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 20:41
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/34969
The shortlink copeid
A'LIA PROVIDING A$3-M ASSISTANCE PACKAGE FOR BDF
Nusa Dua, Bali, Dec 10 (ANTARA) - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said his country was providing an A$3 million assistance package to Indonesia to support the Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) and the Institute for Peace and Democracy.
Rudd made the statement at a press conference here on Wednesday, a few moments before the opening of the Bali Democracy Forum at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Nusa Dua which he would co-chair with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The Bali Democracy Forum and the new institute at the University of Udayana in Bali are aimed at fostering democracy in Asia and the Pacific and are timely regional initiatives by President Yudhoyono.
Rudd congratulated President Yudhoyono for his vision and his regional leadership in convening the Bali Democracy Forum.
The forum will be open to all countries from across the region and will meet regularly at a ministrial level. It will be supported by the new institute which will organize workshops and research on democratic processes, such as electoral systems, the role of civil society and the media, the judiciary and the role of the military.
"It is in Australia's own national interest to support an initiative aimed at strengthening democratic processes and good governance in the Asia Pacific," he said.
It was fitting that the initiative was taken by President Yudhoyono of Indonesia which has undergone a remarkable transformation in recent years to become the world's third largest democracy, Rudd said.
Australian assistance to the Bali Demorcracy Forum will provide support for a partnership between the institute and Australia's Center for Democratic Institutions at the Australian National University, start-up financing for the institute and a mixture of short-and-long democracy scholarships established in partnership with the institute which will bring students from the region to study in Australia.
Rudd made the statement at a press conference here on Wednesday, a few moments before the opening of the Bali Democracy Forum at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Nusa Dua which he would co-chair with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The Bali Democracy Forum and the new institute at the University of Udayana in Bali are aimed at fostering democracy in Asia and the Pacific and are timely regional initiatives by President Yudhoyono.
Rudd congratulated President Yudhoyono for his vision and his regional leadership in convening the Bali Democracy Forum.
The forum will be open to all countries from across the region and will meet regularly at a ministrial level. It will be supported by the new institute which will organize workshops and research on democratic processes, such as electoral systems, the role of civil society and the media, the judiciary and the role of the military.
"It is in Australia's own national interest to support an initiative aimed at strengthening democratic processes and good governance in the Asia Pacific," he said.
It was fitting that the initiative was taken by President Yudhoyono of Indonesia which has undergone a remarkable transformation in recent years to become the world's third largest democracy, Rudd said.
Australian assistance to the Bali Demorcracy Forum will provide support for a partnership between the institute and Australia's Center for Democratic Institutions at the Australian National University, start-up financing for the institute and a mixture of short-and-long democracy scholarships established in partnership with the institute which will bring students from the region to study in Australia.
