Food and energy security will be one of the topics of the 18th ASEAN Summit in Jakarta next May 7-8, Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam said here on Wednesday.
He said the recent increases in the food and energy prices had captured global attention. It could be seen from a survey titled Global Risk 2011 published by the World Economic Forum. The survey put together water, food and security as one of three factors that can cause global risks, apart from macroeconomic imbalances and illegal economies.
Dipo said the volatility of energy and food prices was a global risk with a high possibility to happen and cause major impacts.
Meanwhile, climate change and population growth had also exerted pressure on supply and increased demand for food. Consequently, the food price index in February 2011 rose 2.2 percent compared to January in the same year.
Dipo said the government was paying close attention to the increases in food and energy prices because the two items were determinant factors for the inflation rate. “If the prices cannot be controlled, they will have a negative impact on people`s purchasing power, especially the poor,” he said.
Ten ASEAN heads of state/government are expected to take part in the two-day ASEAN Summit in Jakarta.
During their stay, the ASEAN leaders and delegates will stay at Hotel Indonesia Kempinsky, Hotel Grand Hyatt, Hotel Mandarin, Hotel Four Season, Hotel Shangri-la, Hotel Mulia Senayan, Hotel Ritz-Carlton, and Hotel JW Marriot.
The police said earlier 4,385 personnel are deployed from May 4 to 8 to provide security during the summit.
ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) groups Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
