Lao President's visit here to strengthen relations<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Visiting Laotian President Nouhak Phoumsavanh is
\nscheduled to have a two-hour closed meeting with President
\nSoeharto today to discuss a number of bilateral and international
\nissues.<\/p>\n
Nouhak arrived yesterday with an entourage of 18 people to
\nbegin a six-day state sojourn which will include the West Java
\ntown of Bandung and the holiday resort island of Bali.<\/p>\n
Greeted by Foreign Minister Ali Alatas and Governor of Jakarta
\nSurjadi Soedirdja at Soekarno-Hatta airport yesterday afternoon,
\nthe Laotian President was then whisked to Merdeka Palace where he
\nwas given a military welcome by President Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Prior to his meeting with Soeharto today, Phoumsavan is
\nscheduled to lay a wreath at the Kalibata heroes cemetery.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Laotian First Lady Bounma Phoumsavanh will visit the
\nNational Monument and the museum as well as indulge in a bit of
\n\"window-shopping\" escorted Mrs. Ibrahim Hasan, the wife of the
\nMinister of Food.<\/p>\n
The former French protectorate of Laos gained independence as
\na constitutional monarchy in 1949. However after several years of
\ninternal strife it became a democratic republic in 1975.<\/p>\n
This land-locked country of 4.2 million is mainly an agrarian-
\nbased society with only about one-fifth of the population living
\nin urban areas.<\/p>\n
Laos and Indonesia have maintained cordial relations and have
\nthus far avoided any sort of bilateral dispute.<\/p>\n
Presently Laos holds observer status in the Association of
\nSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which groups Thailand, Singapore,
\nthe Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Though it has yet to express interest, many expect that Laos
\nwill eventually join ASEAN in the future.<\/p>\n
It is expected that today's discussion between Soeharto and
\nNouhak will focus on economic affairs with minor discussions on
\ninternational political affairs and maybe even touch on Laos'
\nmembership in ASEAN.<\/p>\n
Tomorrow Nouhak is due to make a brief stopover in Bandung to
\nvisit the Asia-Africa museum and the state-aircraft manufacturing
\ncompany (IPTN) before spending his remaining few days here in
\nBali.<\/p>\n
Nouhak will visit various tourist sites and learn about the
\nlocal irrigation system called subak. He will leave Bali on
\nSaturday to continue his trip to Thailand. (mds)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/lao-presidents-visit-here-to-strengthen-relations-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}