N Sumatra To Host Roundtable Meeting

Medan, N Sumatra, Nov 21 (ANTARA) - North Sumatra province is ready to host the 11th Annual Roundtable Meeting on Sustainable Palm Oil (RT11) in November 2013, acting governor Gatot Pujo Nugroho said. "As the birthplace of palm oil plantation, North Sumatra deserves to host the meeting," he said at a meeting with Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) adviser Bungaran Saragih and RSPO director for Indonesia Desi Kusumadewi at his official residence here on Wednesday. RSPO is a not-for-profit, market-led association that represents stakeholders from seven sectors of the palm oil industry - oil palm producers, palm oil processors or traders, consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, banks and investors, environmental or nature conservation NGOs and social or developmental NGOs - to develop and implement global standards for sustainable palm oil. Both Bungaran and Desi met the acting North Sumatra governor to inform him of the plan to organize the RT11. Gatot hailed the plan saying North Sumatra deserves to host the world-class meeting. Moreover, the province has adequate convention facilities and hotels and experiences in organizing global conferences. "So far Bali has dominated the holding of world-class events in Indonesia. We continue to encourage various parties, including the central government to make North Sumatra a venue of world-class events," he said. As a gateway for the western part of Indonesia, North Sumatra is one of the tourist destinations in the country, he said. He said North Sumatra where palm oil was commercially developed for the first time in 1911 deserves to host the meeting. RT10 was held in Singapore from October 31 to November 1, 2012.