Mega considers visit to Australia

Mega considers visit to Australia

JAKARTA: Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan
Wirayuda said that the government was looking into the right time
for President Megawati Soekarnoputri to visit Australia.

He said the President intended to visit the neighboring
country, but was still trying to match her schedule with
Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

However, a high-ranking official at the presidential office
told The Jakarta Post Megawati had no plans to leave for Canberra
in the near future.

"The President will make a trip to Japan and Pakistan in
December, and there has been no discussion to include Australia
in her schedule," the official said.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has visited Indonesia
several times to show his goodwill to repair strained relations
between the two countries after the East Timor mayhem in 1999.

Abdurrahman Wahid was the last Indonesian president to visit
Australia, when he met Howard in 2001, just a few months before
his dismissal.--JP