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Indonesian President to Visit Burma
- Subject: Indonesian President to Visit Burma
- From: waterly@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 14 Feb 1997 18:31:00
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