INDONESIA TO ATTEND APEC TELECOM AND INFORMATION

UNCLAS JAKARTA 000736 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EEB/CIP/MA-JOHN RODGERS DEPT FOR EEB/CIP/BA-WHITNEY WITTEMAN DEPT FOR EAP/MTS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: APECO ECPS PINR ECON ID SUBJECT: INDONESIA TO ATTEND APEC TELECOM AND INFORMATION MINISTERIAL REF: SECSTATE 20803 ¶1. The Government of Indonesia will send a delegation to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) seventh ministerial meeting on Telecommunications and Information Policy (TELMIN 7) scheduled for April 3 to 25, 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand. Minister of Communications and Information Mohammad Nuh will serve as the Head of Delegation. We have conveyed Ambassador David Gross' request for a bilateral meting with Minister Nuh in parallel with APEC TELMN ¶7. Minister Nuh is willing to meet with Ambasador Gross on April 24 or 25 at lunchtime. For further information, contact Deputy Director Sofi Suryaatmadja, Directorate of International Cooperation. Ms. Suryaatmadja can be reached at office: 62 21 3835900, mobile: +62-813-1420-3049, email:sofi@postel.go.id. ¶2. The Indonesian delegates include: -- Minister of Communications and Informtion Muhammad Nuh, Head of Delegation -- Depuy Director of International Cooperation Sofi Suryatmadja, Member of Delegation -- Staff of Diretorate of International Cooperation Diah Purbanigrum, Member of Delegation ¶3. Biography of Minister Mohammad Nuh: Prof. Dr. Ir. Mohammad Nuh has served as Minister of Communications and Informaion since May 2007. Prior to this, Minister Nuh ws active as a lecturer at the Surabaya Institute of Technology (ITS) sine 1984, before he served as ITS Rector from 2003 to 2007. Minister Nuh earned his Bachelor degree in Electronic Engineering from ITS in 1983 and obtained his Master and Doctoral degrees at the Univessite des Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc, Monte llier, France in 1987 and 1990. Minister Nuh's expertise is in digital control systems - biomedical systems engineering. He was born on June 17, 1959 in Surabaya, Indonesia. ¶4. Suggested talking points: -- Limiting foreign investment in the telecom and broadcasting sectors impedes innovation and hurts Indonesia's economic and technological competitiveness. (Currently foreign investment in fixed telecom is limited to 49%, cellular to 65% and media to 20% as per last year's negative list). -- Blocking access to internet websites sends the message that Indonesia does not want to be part of a global society that values freedom of information. -- We believe that consumers, not governments, should be the ultimate arbiter of what does (or does not) have artistic merit or entertainment value. -- We find that government censorship is often ineffective and ultimately counterproductive to our national interests. -- As President Bush has said, "With freedom comes responsibilities. With freedom comes the responsibility to be thoughtful about others." HUME