PRESIDENT ARRIVES IN PITTSBURGH FOR G-20 SUMMIT

Pittsburgh, Sept. 24 (ANTARA) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono arrived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the United States, on Tuesday evening, for the G-20 Summit scheduled for Sept. 24 and 25.

The head of state and First Lady Ani Yudhoyono aboard Garuda Indonesia's presidential plane bearing serial number A 330-300, landed at Pittsburgh International Airport at around 10.05 pm local time on Tuesday or 09.05 am Western Indonesian Standard Time (WIB) on Wednesday.

The president and his entourage were greeted by Indonesian Ambassador to the US Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat, Indonesian Consul General to New York Trie Edi Mulyani, and a US protocol official at the airport.

From the airport, they proceeded to Westin Hotel in Pittsburgh, where Yudhoyono and the entourage will stay during the G-20 Summit.

The presidential entourage included Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu, and Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) Chairman MS Hidayat.

The G-20 Summit which will discuss the global economic and environmental issues, will be officially kicked off by US President Barack Obama on Thursday evening.

The G-20 Summit will review the progress since the previous G-20 Summits held in Washington DC in November 2008, and in London in April 2009.

Yudhoyono is scheduled to address the third G-20 summit on the importance of a common agenda to handle the impact of climate change.

From Pittsburgh, he will proceed to Harvard University in Boston on September 26, 2009 to deliver a lecture on the importance of inter-faith harmony in a nation's life.

The G-20 brings together important industrial and emerging-market countries from all regions of the world. Together, the G-20 member countries represent around 90 percent of the global gross national product, 80 percent of world trade (including EU intra-trade) as well as two-thirds of the world's population.

The G-20 is made up of the finance ministers and central bank governors of 19 countries, namely Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

The managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the president of the World Bank, plus the chairs of the International Monetary and Financial Committee and Development Committee of the IMF and World Bank, also participate in G-20 meetings on an ex-officio basis. The European Union which is represented by the rotating Council presidency and the European Central Bank, is the 20th member of the G-20.