Phnom Penh, Nov 05: Southeast Asian leaders will hold their next annual summit on the Indonesian island of Bali to demonstrate it is still safe despite terrorist blasts that
killed nearly 200 people last month, an official said today.
Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri invited the leaders of the association of southeast Asian nations to meet next year in Bali, incoming Asean secretary-general Ong Keng Yong said.
None of the leaders - who were meeting for this year's summit in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh - objected, he said.
Much of this year's meeting has focused on growing terrorism threats in southeast Asia, with the leaders hoping to convince the world that the region is still safe for
tourism and investment.
Ong said holding the summit on Bali would send a significant message.
"We want to bring back the confidence to Bali. Then we bring back the signal that Asean governments are unified and we are together with Indonesia on this," he said.
Asked if the summit would be a security nightmare, he replied: "you mean this is not a nightmare here? Every event now is a security nightmare anywhere in the world."
Security at this year's summit is the tightest ever for an Asean conference, with 5,000 military and police, bomb-sniffing dogs and tight barricades around the site.
Bureau Report
