EU-ASEAN ties above bilateral disputes: Soeharto
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)