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)