Pakistan envoy to discuss Bhutto's visit
Pakistan envoy to discuss Bhutto's visit
JAKARTA (JP): A senior Pakistani official was slated to arrive in Jakarta last night to discuss preparations for Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's visit to Indonesia next month.
During his three-day visit here, Shahid Hasan Khan, Bhutto's special assistant for economic affairs, will meet with Minister of Industry and Trade Tunky Ariwibowo, Minister of Agriculture Sjarifudin Baharsjah along with other pertinent government officials, according to the Pakistan embassy in Jakarta.
Khan and his delegation will try to explore ways to enhance closer economic relations between the two countries.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday also said that French foreign minister Herve de Charette and Hungarian foreign minister Laszlo Kovacs will be making separate visits to Indonesia next week.
Charette is scheduled to arrive for a three-day visit as part of his current Asian tour.
The foreign ministry's director of information Ghaffar Fadyl told The Jakarta Post yesterday that Charette is scheduled to meet with his counterpart Ali Alatas on Monday morning, followed by meetings with Coordinating Minister for Production and Distribution Hartarto and Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie.
A meeting with President Soeharto is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday morning. Charette departs from Paris today and will first spend five days in Beijing. He will make a brief stopover in Hong Kong before proceeding to Jakarta.
Charette is leading a large French business delegation to boost further trade between the two countries, which currently amounts to almost US$1.6 billion.
While his visit will focus on commercial ties, France's disregard for international concern over its nuclear testing in the South Pacific is likely to be raised during the delegation's visit to Indonesia, as is the upcoming Asia-Europe Summit meeting on March 1-2 in Bangkok.
Another major issue which the French foreign minister might bring up is East Timor, according to a Reuters report from Paris.
Charette is also due to chair a meeting of French ambassadors in the region in preparation for the Bangkok summit.
Kovacs's visit will begin on Tuesday.
Kovacs, who is currently the chairman of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe, will be here until Feb. 15 and is scheduled to meet with Alatas and several cabinet ministers. (mds)