ANN members meet Malaysian PM Abdullah

Members of Asia News Network (ANN), including The Jakarta Post's editor-at-large Sabam Siagian, met Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur to introduce their organization to the premier.

The delegation was led by ANN acting chairman Ravindra Kumar from the Indian newspaper The Statesman.

Earlier, Abdullah addressed a one-day Agenda Asia conference, which was jointly organized by the five-year-old ANN and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

In his speech, Abdullah said the impressive strides made by Asian giants India and China in developing their economies was good news for Asia.

"I am confident the rise of these two important markets will do a power of good for the rest of the continent," the New Straits Times quoted Abdullah as saying in its Wednesday edition.

ANN is a network of 14 national daily newspapers published in Asia. Its objectives are to enhance and improve news coverage in the region and to provide member newspapers with reliable access to news sources in Asia. It also aspires to help promote the professional development of journalism in the region.

The Post is a member of ANN. -- JP