Leaders of Transparency International and Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative meet President of Indonesia

United Nations Convention against Corruption, ASEAN cooperation on anti-corruption discussed

The global leadership of Transparency International, Transparency International Indonesia, and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative met with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono today, 29 October, 2007 at the presidential palace in Jakarta. The President was joined by a delegation of high-level officials, including the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, the Minister of Justice and Human Rights, the Attorney General and the national Chief of Police.

The agenda included Indonesia’s commitment to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which hosts a congress in Indonesia in January 2008, the recovery of stolen assets and transparency in the oil and gas sectors. Transparency International Indonesia also presented a proposal for an ASEAN charter on combating corruption that they hoped he would take leadership on, which the President received enthusiastically.

The high-level delegation also presented the conclusions reached by Transparency International’s Annual Membership Meeting, which was held on 27-28 October on Bali with TI national chapters from over seventy countries, which included action points on the recovery of stolen assets and the criminalisation of facilitation payments.

The President expressed his commitment to the fight against corruption, as his number one priority, numerous times, as well announcing his participation at the January conference in Bali on the UN Convention against Corruption.

The delegation included:
Huguette Labelle, Transparency International Chair, Akere Muna, Vice-Chair of Transparency International, Peter Eigen, Chair of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and Founder of Transparency International, as well as Todung Mulya Lubis, Chair of TI Indonesia and Rizal Malik, Secretary General of TI Indonesia.