Four Head Of Government Expected To Attend Bali Democracy Forum

Denpasar, Bali, Oct 6 (Antara) - Four heads of government from Southeast Asian countries are expected to take part in the two-day Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) starting on Oct 10. "So far four heads of state including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono are expected to attend the Seventh BDF," commander of BDF the security task force Brig. Gen. Ruslian Hariadi said here on Monday. The other three heads of government include Philippine President Benigno Aquino, East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, and Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. The meeting of Asia Pacific foreign ministers will discuss regional cooperation in political and democracy development. This year, the theme of the forum is to strengthen the democracy architecture to meet the regional challenges in political and democracy development. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is to open the forum, which would be the last BDF to be attended by the outgoing president. Yudhoyono is to hand over the presidency to president elect Joko Widodo on August 20. A number of non governmental organizations are also invited to attend the forum such as the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) and Perludem.