Kohl to strengthen ties with RI

Kohl to strengthen ties with RI

JAKARTA (JP): German Chancellor Helmut Kohl is due to arrive
here on Saturday for a four-day visit aimed at strengthening
bilateral relations between the two countries.

Minister/State secretary Moerdiono said Kohl's entourage will
comprise about 100 people including the minister of economics;
the minister of education; the minister of education, science and
technology; the minister of post and telecommunication; business
people and journalists.

"The main purpose of the visit is to strengthen the already-
good bilateral relation, especially in economics and trade,"
Moerdiono told reporters.

The German government has demonstrated the importance it
places on Kohl's visit by sending such a large number of
prominent business people, he said.

The agenda which begins Oct. 28. includes Soeharto-Kohl talks,
signing a memorandum of agreement on shipping and a visit to the
national heroes cemetery in Kalibata, South Jakarta.

From the Halim Perdana Kusuma airport, Kohl will be taken by
helicopter to Bira Island in Jakarta Bay, where he will meet
President Soeharto later that evening.

The state dinner will be held at the Jakarta Convention Center
instead of the state palace due to the large number of delegates.

AFP reported that German members of parliament called on the
chancellor to raise the issue of human rights in Indonesia during
talks with President Soeharto.

Junior foreign minister Helmut Schaefer said the human rights
record in Indonesia, which has been the subject of talks between
Bonn and Jakarta since 1993, was unsatisfactory.

Andreas Krautscheid, a member of Kohl's Christian Democrat
Union, described the situation in East Timor, as "unacceptable",
but hailed the chancellor's intention to raise the matter in his
talks with President Soeharto.

The Greens and the social democrats repeated calls for a ban
on German arms exports to Indonesia.

Kohl will visit the Philippines and Japan on his Asian tour.
(pan)