AHEM

Exchange. How did Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri get priority as the number one speaker on the opening day of the summit? Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez was ranked second because he was representing the 133 member Group of 77 developing countries while Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen was number three because he spoke on behalf of the European Union. But Indonesia? Well, when the venue for the WSSD was being discussed at the UN, Indonesia was one of the strongest contenders. But South Africa was determined to get it. So there was a compromise. Since Indonesia agreed to stand down in favour of South Africa, the South Africans offered the Indonesian two “incentives”: first, the offer to host the last Preparatory Committee meeting in Bali in June, and second, to accommodate Indonesia as the first speaker at the summit.

More summits. Even before the curtain came down on WSSD, the United Nations may be gearing itself for another UN talkfest—this time a conference on small island developing states (SIDS). Don’t miss it. At a summit of SIDS heads of state Sunday, it was decided to follow-up the 1994 conference on SIDS in Barbados. The upcoming conference, to be called “Barbados Plus Ten” will be held in 2004. But there were two contenders offering to host the conference—Cape Verde and Mauritius. After a little persuasion, Cape Verde stood down.