FM expresses confidence in new Egypt

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 04/15/2011 2:56 PM | National

Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa says Indonesia and Egypt have agreed to strengthen democracy in both states by increasing contact.

“Egypt sees Indonesia as having had the experience of resolving the 1998 political crisis. On that basis, both sides have agreed to intensify contact in order to strengthen democracy in both countries,” he said Thursday during his visit to Cairo.

Marty added that the Indonesian General Elections Commission (KPU) would meet with the Egyptian general elections body to exchange information on preparing and conducting fair and transparent elections.

Egypt has just gone through a turbulent political period where protesters demanded democracy. The weeks of protests finally brought about the downfall of former president Hosni Mubarak, in February.

“We would not lecture Egypt, but both sides need each other for an exchange of mindsets and ideas on how to manage democracy,” Marty said.

Egypt is scheduled to hold a parliamentary election in September 2011, followed by its first-ever democratic presidential election in November.

Marty added that he was positive that Egypt would enter a better period after the change in regime, similar to Indonesia’s experience following the forced resignation of former president Soeharto in 1998.

“We are certainly confident that Egypt will be better after the revolution,” he said, as reported by Antara news service.

Oil rises to $91 on Egypt protests, US jobs report

The Associated Press, Singapore | Fri, 02/04/2011 11:41 AM | Business

Oil prices rose to near $91 a barrel Friday in Asia as traders eyed violent street clashes in Egypt and a key U.S. jobs report.

Benchmark crude for March delivery was up 42 cents at $90.96 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost 32 cents to settle at $90.54 on Thursday.

In London, Brent crude gained 40 cents to $102.16 a barrel ICE Futures exchange.

Oil investors have been closely watching clashes between supporters and opponents of President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo this week after the 82-year-old leader resisted protesters' calls for his immediate resignation. Shipping through Egypt's Suez Canal has not been disrupted, but investors are also concerned political instability could spread to oil rich countries in the Middle East.

"Oil prices would surely rise much further if there were any serious disruption to production elsewhere in the region or to traffic through the Suez Canal," Capital Economics said in a report. "But there is still no sign of this and little reason to expect it."

"The bulk of the rise in oil prices over the last few months reflects buoyant global demand rather than uncertainty in the Middle East."

Crude traders will also be eyeing the U.S. employment report for January due to be released by the Labor Department later Friday. Analysts expect a net total of 146,000 new jobs were added last month while the unemployment rate is likely to tick up to 9.5 percent from 9.4 percent in December.

Trading volume was light in Asia as markets in mainland China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore were closed Friday for Lunar New Year.

In other Nymex trading in February contracts, heating oil rose 0.5 cent to $2.77 a gallon and gasoline gained 0.8 cent to $2.51 a gallon. Natural gas futures for March delivery were up 2.4 cents at $4.36 per 1,000 cubic feet.

SBY to welcome Indonesians evacuated from Egypt

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 02/02/2011 11:07 AM | National

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will make an impromptu visit to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Wednesday to welcome the first group Indonesians evacuated from Egypt, according to a press official.

“Yes, the President will be going to Cengkareng,” presidential press office chief J. Nachrowi said as quoted by tribunnews.com news portal.

The President was previously scheduled to meet representatives from the International Monetary Fund at the Presidential Palace at 1 p.m. However Yudhoyono chose to meet the evacuees, mostly women and children, as they arrived at the airport, Nachrowi said.

First RI evacuees from Egypt to reach Jakarta on Wednesday

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 02/02/2011 10:30 AM | National

The Foreign Affairs Ministry says the first group of Indonesians evacuated from Egypt will arrive in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The 415 evacuees, mostly women and children, will reach Soekarno Hatta International Airport at 11 a.m. on Wednesday on a Garuda Indonesia flight and be brought to dormitories at Pondok Gede Haj to meet immigration and customs officials, ministry spokesman Michael Tene said.

The evacuation team ran into problems when transporting the evacuees to Cairo International Airport after it was banned from using large buses, Michael said.

Michael said preparations were underway to evacuate the next group of Indonesians, declining to discuss specifics.

“It’s all still in process,” he said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com online news portal.