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.