Beatrix begins eight-day six-province tour
Beatrix begins eight-day six-province tour
JAKARTA (JP): Dutch Queen Beatrix met with President Soeharto
yesterday to bid him farewell, before departing for the next leg
of her visit, which will take her to six provinces in eight days.
In an informal meeting at the Merdeka Palace, Beatrix,
accompanied by her husband Prince Claus and Crown Prince William
Alexander, complimented the President on the tremendous success
of Indonesia's development and wished Soeharto further success in
the future.
The President in turn briefed the Dutch monarch on Indonesia's
development strategy for the future and the economic challenges
likely to be encountered.
During the meeting which was conducted in a rather light
atmosphere, Beatrix delivered a message from her father, Prince
Bernhard, asking Soeharto whether he was still a keen golfer.
Soeharto replied that he regularly kept a nine-hole schedule
three times a week.
Beatrix also extended an invitation to the President and Mrs
Tien Soeharto to visit the Netherlands.
Separately, Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono told
journalists yesterday that officials on both sides would try to
find an appropriate time for such a visit, depending on the
schedules of both Soeharto and Beatrix.
In Surabaya yesterday, Beatrix attended a luncheon with East
Java Governor Basofi Sudirman, before visiting Tambakrejo
village. Yesterday evening she attended a reception aboard a
Dutch ship.
Today, the fourth day of her stay in Indonesia, Beatrix will
tour the site of state-owned shipbuilding company PT PAL.
At noon she will leave for Yogyakarta, where she will visit
the world-famous Borobudur and Prambanan temples before traveling
to Manado, North Sulawesi, tomorrow.
Her stay in Manado is meant as a holiday weekend for the queen
to rest and relax. She thus has a free program on Saturday.
On Sunday Beatrix will attend a church service which will be
conducted in Dutch.
"We have gathered our elderly, who are still fluent in Dutch,
to accompany the Queen both at the church service and throughout
her stay in North Sulawesi," Frans Gromang, head of the
provincial tourism, post and telecommunication's office, was
quoted by Antara as saying in Manado yesterday.
Beatrix will then visit the village of Woloan where she will
witness the construction of a Minahasa house.
From Manado the Dutch monarch will continue her journey to
Balikpapan, Palembang and finally Padang, from which she will
leave Indonesia next Thursday. (mds)