Mega, Zia to talk on hot issues
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Trade and counterterrorism cooperation are expected to top the agenda of bilateral talks between visiting Bangladeshi Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia and President Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Arriving at the Halim Perdanakusumah airport on Friday night, the Prime Minister is slated to have a meeting with President Megawati at the State Palace on Saturday.
Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said the two leaders would discuss various bilateral issues.
"Both countries share the commitment to terrorism eradication and cooperation in dealing with the issue," Marty said on Friday in a weekly press briefing.
The two leaders are also scheduled to witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding to establish a joint commission between the two countries.
Aside from Megawati, the Prime Minister is slated to hold separate meetings with Vice President Hamzah Haz, House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung, People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais and other high-ranking officials.
Megawati will host a State Banquet for the visiting Bangladesh leader later in the afternoon.
No press conference has been arranged following the bilateral talks between the two leaders, but a press statement will be made available by foreign affairs ministers from both countries.
Zia is the first Bangladeshi leader to visit the country since the slain president Ziaur Rahman, who was Zia's husband, in 1978.
Megawati visited Dhaka in June last year, where the Prime Minister asked Indonesia to support the inclusion of Bangladesh in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).
Marty said the two leaders would also discuss various global and regional issues, such as the development of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), the Asia-Africa Sub Regional Organization Conference (AASROC) and on the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
Both Zia and Megawati are women leaders of two of the largest Muslim-majority nations in the world.
The Prime Minister will pay homage to Indonesian heroes at the Kalibata heroes cemetery in South Jakarta on Sunday, before leaving for Brunei Darussalam later in the day.