President To Open Bali Democracy Forum VII

Jakarta, Oct 9 (Antara) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to open the seventh Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) on Friday, Oct 10. Presidential staff for foreign affairs Teuku Faizasyah stated that the President will lead the first discussion after officially opening the Forum. "The BDF, an initiative of President Yudhoyono, is an annual event that has become part of the democratic discourse in the Asia-Pacific region, involving representatives of international governments in the region. Since 2008, the BDF has functioned as a forum to promote regional and international cooperation in the field of democracy. The approach involves exchanging the best experiences of each country`s democratic process," Teuku Faizasyah said here on Thursday. The Forum will be jointly chaired by President Yudhoyono and President of the Philippines Y M Benigno Simeon Aquino III. Besides them, the forum will be attended by the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam, Y.M. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and the Prime Minister of East Timor, Y.M. Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao. "A major topic of discussion in the BDF, Evolving Regional Democratic Architecture, will reflect on how democracy continues to evolve in the Asia-Pacific region, both in the context of the developments in the states and organizations in the region," he affirmed. Meanwhile, at the discussion of the sub-theme, "the Challenges of Political Development, Public Participation and Socio-Economic Progress in the 21st Century", Indonesia has invited the participants to talk about key issues often raised and encountered in the states to improve the democratic process. He added that the BDF provided a platform to exchange views and best experiences in developing a democratic system in a country or region. As a dynamic process, democracy always looked for the best option. Therefore, the forum provided the space to learn from each other, even from Indonesia. According to Faizasyah, the presence of the President of the Philippines as BDF`s co-chair is significant, as the Philippines was one of the earliest countries in the region to implement a democratic system. "So, we can learn many things from the experiences of the Philippines," he noted.