President meets with ASEAN envoys<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): As an indication of the continued importance
\nIndonesia places on regional cooperation, newly elected President
\nAbdurrahman Wahid met with nine envoys from the member states of
\nthe Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Friday.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman hinted during the meeting that his first trip
\nabroad would be to attend the ASEAN summit in Manila next month.<\/p>\n
Malaysia's ambassador to Indonesia, Rastam Muhammad Isa, said
\nafter the meeting that Abdurrahman expressed his desire to
\nenhance cooperation between the 10-member regional grouping,
\nadding that Abdurrahman \"expressed his willingness to meet with
\nASEAN leaders during the informal meeting in Manila in November\".<\/p>\n
Indonesia is a founding member of the regional grouping, which
\nalso includes Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
\nPhilippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
ASEAN has been considered the cornerstone of Indonesia's
\nforeign policy in the past.<\/p>\n
There were fears that with Indonesia's attention diverted by
\nits pressing political and economic crises, its primary role in
\nASEAN would be diminished.<\/p>\n
However, the 70-minute meeting with the ASEAN envoys on Friday
\nseemed to signal the importance of the grouping to the new
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
Rastam said Abdurrahman also expressed his desire to visit
\nMalaysia and meet with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.<\/p>\n
The ambassador, however, did not say if a meeting between the
\ntwo leaders would be arranged in the near future. (05)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/president-meets-with-asean-envoys-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}