President of Mali here for three-day visit

JAKARTA (JP): The President of Mali Alpha Oumar Konare arrived here yesterday for a three-day visit aimed at enhancing economic relations.

After Konare paid a courtesy call on President Soeharto at Merdeka Palace, Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono said that both countries are working on an agreement to provide a formal base for economic cooperation.

"He deems this visit as a good opportunity to see the possibility of enhancing economic cooperation between the two countries," Moerdiono said.

"Mali produces gold, iron, brass, phosphate, bauxite, manganese and other minerals which are still under-exploited," Moerdiono explained.

A west African republic with a population of 6.9 million people, Mali has common borders with, among others, Algiers and Mauritania.

This morning Konare is to hold formal talks on both economic cooperation and the international situation with President Soeharto. The two leaders will then join the Friday prayer at the Grand Istiqlal Mosque.

Tomorrow, Konare, his wife Adame Ba Konare, and his son, foreign minister Dioncounda, as well as the commander of Mali's armed forces Mamadou BA, will go on to Bandung, West Java. They will visit the state-owned military equipment manufacturer PT Pindad, the Asia-Africa Conference museum and the state-owned aircraft manufacturer PT IPTN.

Konare will then return to Jakarta before flying on to Hong Kong for the next leg of his trip. (31)