Megawati: U.S. visit a success<\/p>\n
By Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Kornelius Purba<\/p>\n
TOKYO (JP): President Megawati Soekarnoputri, describing her
\nnine-day visit to the United States as a big success, was
\ncounting her blessings Wednesday aboard the Garuda Airbus 330 on
\nher way from Seattle to Tokyo.<\/p>\n
One of the blessings is President George W. Bush's
\nadministration's support for Indonesia's territorial integrity.
\nAnother is the U.S. agreement to resume military ties with the
\nIndonesian Military (TNI).<\/p>\n
Overall, she said, her meetings with U.S. political and
\nbusiness leaders, including President Bush himself, had yielded
\nsignificant results encompassing the fields of politics, the
\neconomy, security, and the social and cultural fields.<\/p>\n
"On security and the territorial integrity of Indonesia, the
\nUnited States actively supports the unity of the republic. What
\nis also positive is the military aspect. Past obstacles on the
\nissue have been resolved," Megawati said, beaming with
\nconfidence.<\/p>\n
Megawati also expressed her satisfaction with her meetings
\nwith International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Horst
\nKohler, World Bank President James Wolfenshon, and U.S. Secretary
\nof the Treasury Paul O'Neill.<\/p>\n
The meetings, she said, would pave the way for the next Paris
\nClub meeting to discuss the rescheduling of Indonesia's foreign
\ndebt.<\/p>\n
American enterprises operating in Indonesia also pledged to
\npay more attention to the welfare of local people and to improve
\ntheir environmental management, she said.<\/p>\n
When asked about the opposition of some Muslim groups in
\nIndonesia to her visit to the U.S. shortly after the terrorist
\nattacks in New York and Washington, the President responded:
\n"Terrorism should not viewed in a biased way. We ourselves
\nexperienced (terrorism) before my visit to the ASEAN countries
\n(in August). It (terrorism) can happen anywhere and all countries
\nhave the willingness to eradicate it. We should not judge it from
\na narrow-minded perspective."<\/p>\n
In anticipation of a possible global recession after the
\nterrorist attacks, Megawati cited several possible measures,
\nincluding debt-rescheduling with Indonesia's creditors and closer
\ncooperation with international agencies to enable her government
\nto deal with the worst case scenario.<\/p>\n
"The international organizations will provide us with a
\n(breathing) space to anticipate possible global economic
\nchanges," the President said.<\/p>\n
The President and her entourage arrived at Haneda Airport on
\nWednesday evening. She is scheduled to stay here until Sunday
\nmorning during which time she will meet with Japanese Prime
\nMinister Junichiro Koizumi and Japanese corporate executives.<\/p>\n
"Japan is one of the countries which strongly supports us,"
\nMegawati said referring to Japan's stance on Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Megawati is staying at the Imperial Hotel during her Japanese,
\nvisit, the same hotel where her father, first president Sukarno,
\nused to stay during his frequent visits to Japan.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/megawati-us-visit-a-success-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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