Megawati takes home pledges of arms ties
Megawati takes home pledges of arms ties
Agencies, Warsaw
President Megawati Soekarnoputri prepared on Friday to return
home from a week-long visit to Russia and Poland, laden with
promises of military cooperation and prospective arms deals.
In a sign of the military theme of her European visit,
Megawati spent her last day in Europe before flying back
attending a presentation of Polish military equipment at a Warsaw
airfield.
She applauded Polish plane and helicopter displays, mounted a
low surveillance radar system, tugged at soldiers' protective
clothing for texture and weighed a P-99 pistol in her palm, often
asking "how does it work" along the way.
Polish Deputy Defense Minister Janusz Zemke, at her side
during the visit, said she had been well-prepared and asked many
questions, raising the prospect of arms deals he set at tens of
millions of dollars.
"Poland is not on the Indonesian market and it will start to
sell arms to Indonesia," he told reporters after Megawati left.
The display of military hardware came hot on the heels of a
promise on Thursday of extensive cooperation in the military and
arms field from Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski.
Zemke was quoted by the PAP news agency as saying that several
Polish companies were negotiating contracts on the sale of
Skytruck planes and radar systems, which may be concluded as
early as in May or June. Also offered to Megawati were Poland-
made Sokol helicopters.
He said that in a bid to support arms exports, the Polish
government will offer credits on arms sales to the Southeast
Asian country.
A source said the credit could reach $135 million credit.
During Megawati's visit to Poland Warsaw and Jakarta also
signed several cooperation accords in the areas of education,
science, culture and tourism.
There was a similar theme during a preceding five-day visit to
Russia where Megawati signed an arms agreement with Russian
President Vladimir Putin on Monday.
Megawati sealed on Wednesday the purchase of four Russian-made
Sukhoi fighter planes worth between $100 million and $120 million
each.
The Indonesian leader's visit to Russia and Poland came at a
time when relations with the United States are chilled over the
war in Iraq, and while Indonesia is still subject to a four-year-
old U.S. arms embargo.
Washington imposed the arms embargo in 1999, following the
military's failure to stem violence in East Timor.
In Russia she called for a new beginning in relations with
Russia on Tuesday, vowing to boost trade that amounted to just
$170 million (156 million euros) last year.