Abdurrahman set to meet Australian PM John Howard

CANBERRA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid will hold talks with Australian Prime Minister John Howard here on Monday morning in a bid to bury any perceived animosity between the two countries.

While the official bilateral talks between the two leaders are scheduled to last just one hour, the symbolic handshake and tete- a-tete is hoped to rejuvenate ties battered over the past two years by political disagreements.

Abdurrahman will meet with Howard shortly after touching down in the Australian capital. This trip marks the first time an Indonesian leader has visited Australia since the mid-1970s, despite several trips to Indonesia by Australian prime ministers.

The meeting on Monday morning will be followed by an official lunch.

The meeting is scheduled to cover a broad range of issues covering political and economic cooperation between the two countries, including the planned signing of a memorandum of understanding on tourism.

The President left Jakarta on Sunday night aboard an Indonesian Air Force Boeing-707 and was due to touch down in Sydney at about 8 a.m. local time. From there he will take either a small Australian Air Force Falcon jet or a Boeing-737 for the half-hour flight to Canberra.

He is due to be met at the Canberra airport by Governor General William Deane.

Expected to be included in the presidential entourage is First Lady Shinta Nuriyah, Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab, Minister of National Education Yahya Muhaimin, Minister of Agriculture Bungaran Saragih, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Rokhmin Dahuri and Presidential Secretary Abdul Mudjib Manan.

Later on Monday afternoon, President Abdurrahman Wahid will receive a courtesy call from opposition party leader Kim Beazley at his presidential suite at the Hyatt Hotel.

In the evening Abdurrahman will attend a reception hosted by the governor-general at the Government House.

A tentative meeting with the Canberra Indonesian Teachers Association is also scheduled.

Abdurrahman will fly to Sydney on Tuesday, where he will stay for one day. He will fly to New Zealand on Wednesday before returning to Darwin.

While in Australia, Abdurrahman is also expected to meet with the Australian business community and the Australia-Indonesia Business Council.

In New Zealand, Abdurrahman will hold talks with Prime Minister Sylvia Cartwright, as well as speaking at a seminar on the role of Islam in Indonesia's history and political system.

The President will have a brief stopover in Manila before returning to Jakarta.(mds)