Medan, March 10--Antara-AsiaNet/InfoQuest The Network of Regional Governments for Sustainable Development (nrgG4SD) meeting or Lake Toba Summit kicked off in North Sumatra on Thursday bearing the theme Global Partnership for Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of Post Disaster Settlement. The summit taking place till March 12, 2005, in the North Sumatra provincial capital of Medan, Parapat and Brastagi (also in the province) is participated in by no less than 500 delegates from more than 40 countries. Summit coordinator Gori Tarnanto said among VIP guests attending the summit are East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao, ASEAN Secretary General Ong Keng Yong and Erin Brockovich of the Save the World Air. The organizing committee once predicted that the three-day gathering would bring together some 500 world governors and regional leaders who are concerned about the environment and sustainable development, and grouped in the nrg4SD. The summit, which was opened by Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is expected to produce a Lake Toba Call declaration. North Sumatra Governor T Rizal Nurdin expressed hope the expected Lake Toba Call to be produced at the summit could serve as a reference for the holding of similar international meetings in the future. "North Sumatra will be better known due to Lake Toba Call which is expected to serve as a reference for the holding of international meetings on sustainable development, like Kyoto Protocol," the governor told newsmen at his office recently. The governor also hoped regional government leaders and businessmen both from other provinces in Indonesia and other countries taking part in the summit would see many industrial potentials in North Sumatra. The summit was also expected to encourage the exchange of experts among regional governments like what had been done by a regional government in Germany. "Such an activity is expected to improve the capacity of our human resources," he said. The governor said the direct impact of the summit on the North Sumatra people is the promotion of the province's tourist potentials to all the participants. He likewise hoped the governors attending the summit would visit Samosir, an islet located on Lake Toba, as North Sumatra's reliable tourist destination. Contact :REGIONAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE:Mr. Prof. Syamsul Arifin Chairman of North Sumatra Environmental Agency, Jalan T. Daud 5 , Medan 20112, North Sumatera, Indonesia Tel. +62 61 4537050; Fax. +62 61 4537050 HP. +62 812 6021218 E-mail : [email protected] [email protected] Source: REGIONAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE --Distributed by AsiaNet (www.asianetnews.net)--