Jakarta (Antara Bali) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday opened the Second Congress of Indonesian Diasporas being held at the Jakarta Convention Centre here on Aug 18-20.
The Congress of Indonesian Diasporas brings together Indonesian citizens who live and work abroad; descendants of Indonesians, who have become citizens of other countries; and foreigners with a cultural connection to and love of Indonesia.
President Yudhoyono was accompanied by First Lady Ani Yudhoyono at the opening ceremony, which was attended by thousands of members of the global Indonesian diaspora.
M Wahid Supriyadi, the head of the foreign ministry's Indonesian Diaspora Desk, said recently that some 3,880 people were participating in the Second Congress of Indonesian Diasporas.
According to Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa, five million Indonesians live and work abroad, and the global Indonesian diaspora has eight million members.
Natalegawa noted that the sizeable Indonesian diaspora was expected to have a major influence on Indonesia's national development throughout the 21st century to raise it to the status of a developed nation.
He hoped that this status would be achieved by the time the country observes its 100th anniversary of independence in 2045. (*/DWA)
