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)