Hashimoto, Kohl phone Soeharto, Goh due here

Hashimoto, Kohl phone Soeharto, Goh due here

JAKARTA (JP): Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and
German Chancellor Helmut Kohl yesterday telephoned President
Soeharto to express their concerns about Indonesia's deepening
financial crisis.

Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono said here that Hashimoto
had called Soeharto from Tokyo at 2 p.m. Jakarta time for about
35 minutes, and later Kohl talked with Soeharto on the phone for
about 10 minutes.

In a related development, Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok
Tong will make an overnight visit here today for talks with
President Soeharto on Indonesia's economic crisis.

"The prime minister will hold discussions with Soeharto on the
currency problem," Reuters quoted a statement from the prime
minister's office in Singapore as saying.

Soeharto, Moerdiono said, had assured Hashimoto that his
government would fully implement reforms supported by the
International Monetary Fund (IMF).

"President Soeharto assured Prime Minister Hashimoto that
Indonesia would sincerely and wholeheartedly carry out the
programs approved and supported by the IMF," Moerdiono said.

The implementation of reform and restructuring programs would
benefit Indonesian interests, he added.

Kohl informed Soeharto of his confidence in Indonesia's
capacity to overcome its financial problems, Moerdiono said.

"The President hopes that the talks with (IMF Managing
Director) Michel Camdessus on Thursday will be fruitful. After
having heard that explanation, Chancellor Kohl expects Indonesia
to overcome its crisis," said Moerdiono.

When asked if Soeharto had asked the two leaders about the
possibility of rescheduling of Indonesia's foreign debts,
Moerdiono said: "The government has repeatedly emphasized that it
will service and repay all its foreign debts on time and
according to the rules".

"But I want to reiterate here that the government will not
take over private sector debts," he said.

Hashimoto's and Kohl's gestures followed similar telephone
calls from U.S. President Bill Clinton, who sent a high-level
mission to Jakarta to take a first-hand look at the situation,
and from Australian Prime Minister John Howard last week.

Goh is to return to Singapore early Wednesday. (prb/rid)