EU-ASEAN ties above bilateral disputes: Soeharto

JAKARTA (JP): Differences between two countries should not disrupt the good relationship already established between ASEAN and the European Union (EU), President Soeharto said yesterday.

In a speech following his acceptance of the credentials of the new Belgian Ambassador to Indonesia, Marc Van Craen, at the Merdeka Palace, Soeharto said the existing strong ties between the two important regions should not be disrupted by irrelevant bilateral problems.

Indonesia, a member of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), and Portugal, a member the EU, are in a dispute over East Timor.

Soeharto praised the harmonious cooperation that has existed between the two regions over the past two decades.

"Indonesia wishes the two regions could maintain and strengthen the existing cooperation for the benefit of the peoples of the regions," he said.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Accompanied by Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono, the President also underlined Indonesia's non-interference stance on international affairs.

"Indonesia actively pays attention to world security and peace affairs while standing firm on its principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs," Soeharto said.

Soeharto also received the credentials of Algerian Ambassador Soufiane Mimouni, with whom the President discussed the uncertainty in the peace process in the Middle East.

"We are very concerned about the deadlock in the peace process because of Israel's failure to meet its commitments with Palestine," he said.

"The suffering of the Palestinian people should immediately be halted," he said.

When receiving the credentials of the new Moroccan Ambassador Omar Hilale, Soeharto noted that current developments in international relations mostly benefit developed countries more than they do developing ones.

"There are many developing countries, whose people make up the bigger proportion of the world's population, still shackled by poverty and backwardness," he said.

Soeharto later called on Morocco and other developing countries to strengthen cooperation through the South-South Forum. (swe)