Megawati arrives in Dhaka on 3-day visit

Megawati arrives in Dhaka on 3-day visit

DHAKA (Agencies): Indonesian Vice President Megawati Soekanoputri arrived here on Friday on a three-day official visit, the first by a senior Jakarta leader since Bangladesh's independence in 1971.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed welcomed her guest at Dhaka's Zia International Airport as Megawati and her 72-member entourage flew in from Geneva, AFP reported.

Megawati later visited the suburban town of Savar and laid a wreath at the National Monument for Martyrs of Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.

She then returned to the capital for a series of events, including meeting President Shahabuddin Ahmed and a dinner with the Prime Minister.

The official BSS news agency said during the courtesy meeting with Ahmed, Megawati called for closer cooperation between the two countries for the development of their peoples.

Official talks, scheduled for Saturday with Foreign Minister Abdus Samad Azad, were expected to cover new avenues for enhancing Dhaka-Jakarta trade links.

There currently is a heavy trade imbalance between the two nations. Bangladesh currently imports US$159 million worth of goods from Indonesia, yet only exports $9 million.

The visit is also aimed at bolstering international and regional support for Indonesia in its efforts to consolidate its democracy, BSS reported.

The Vice President and Prime Minister are both members of political dynasties.

Sheikh Hasina is the daughter of Bangladesh's founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, assassinated in 1975, while Megawati is the daughter of Indonesia's founding president Sukarno.

Megawati is due to leave Bangladesh on Sunday for Malaysia where she will spend three days before returning home.