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Indonesian President to Visit Burma



                     Copyright 1997 Agence France Presse
                              Agence France Presse

                          February  13, 1997 13:06 GMT


HEADLINE: Indonesian president to visit  Burma,  Cambodia, Laos

DATELINE: JAKARTA, Feb 13

   Indonesian President Suharto will make a week-long visit to Cambodia, Laos
and  Burma  to discuss economic, bilateral and international issues, State
Secretary Murdiono said here Thursday.

   "The visit will be used by all parties to strengthen bilateral ties,
particularly in economic and trade cooperation ... There will also be exchange
of thoughts on various regional and international issues," Murdiono told
reporters at the Merdeka palace. 
   He emphasized that Suharto's visit "has nothing to do" with the three
countries' pending membership of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN), of which Indonesia is a member.

   ASEAN announced here in December that Cambodia, Laos and  Burma  would be
admitted into ASEAN simultanously sometime in 1997, unlike previous plans of
admitting Cambodia and Laos earlier than  Burma.

   ASEAN has received sharp western criticism over its plans to admit  Burma,
currently under a stern military regime frequently accused of human rights
abuses, as a member.

   Murdiono said Thursday that during his visit Suharto would sign memorandums
of understanding (MOUs) for oil in Cambodia, and one between Citra Lamtoro Gung,
a business group controled by Suharto's eldest daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana,
and the Union of  Myanmar  Economic Holding.

   Indonesia has already begun cooperating with  Burma  in the cement industry,
he said.

   Indonesia's PT Semen Cibinong said last month that it would invest 210
million dollars in building cement plants in  Burma.

   Suharto would also sign cooperations in forestry, agriculture and air
transport in Laos, Murdiono said.

   The president will be in Cambodia between February 17 and 19, then go to Laos
until February 21. From Laos he will fly to  Burma  where he will stay until
February 23.

   ASEAN groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand and Vietnam.
 AFP

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH