Megawati begins Russian tour today

Megawati begins Russian tour today

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri will be the first Indonesian
president in 23 years to visit the Russian Federation, following
in the footsteps of her father, founding president Soekarno, who
built strong ties with Moscow in the 1950s.

Megawati will embark on her Russian trip on Thursday, stopping
off first in Rumania before heading to Moscow on April 20. She is
slated to meet her Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, the day
after.

Officials here said last year that Indonesia might be seeking
an arms deal with Russia, but no details of the plan have emerged
since.

A senior Russian reporter here said that this would not be the
two leaders' first encounter as both met for the first time in
1990 when Megawati was a legislator and Putin worked in the St.
Petersburg administration.

"They were talking quite a bit at the time, of course
formally, because it was during a reception to welcome Indonesian
legislators," the reporter told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

An official at the President's office said Megawati would be
flying to St. Petersburg on April 23 to receive an honorary
doctorate degree from the state-owned St. Petersburg University,
one of the oldest universities in Russia.

Her visit is a follow-up to last year's visit to Moscow by
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda. A joint committee
has since been established to improve cooperation and seek deals
between the two countries.

Hassan earlier said Russia's persistence to oppose the United
States-led war on Iraq had further confirmed the former communist
country's strategic position to become one of the major players
in the world.

Since the fall of the communist state over a decade ago,
Russia has been on a steady path to recovery and growth.

Just as Indonesia, it sought the help of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) to handle its economic crisis, which reached
its peak in 1998 with the devaluation of the ruble.

But in 2001 the country decided to cut its dependence from the
IMF, one thing that Indonesia also plans to do this year.

Megawati will also be visiting Poland on April 24. The last
stop on her tour is Thailand, where Megawati will speak in front
of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and
the Pacific (UN-ESCAP).

Her entourage will comprise some 80 people, including husband
Taufik Kiemas, daughter Puan Maharani and several regular members
of the presidential entourage, like businessman Jacob Nursalim,
whose brother Sjamsul Nursalim owes the state trillions of
rupiah. Megawati is slated to return to Jakarta on April 29.