President to make another trip abroad

JAKARTA (JP): Less than two weeks after his last overseas trip, President Abdurrahman Wahid will embark on yet another trip on Tuesday, which will take him to Malaysia, South Korea and Singapore.

Head of State Protocol Rahmat Ranudiwijaya told a news briefing over the weekend that Abdurrahman was scheduled to leave for Langkawi on Tuesday morning to meet with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Rahmat said that the scheduled talks in Langkawi were based on an agreement made between the two heads of government during Mahathir's visit to Jakarta earlier this year.

Abdurrahman will then travel to Seoul on Wednesday to attend the two-day ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Summit which begins on Friday.

The summit will bring 25 heads of government from Europe and Asia together, as well as European Union President Romano Prodi.

Abdurrahman is scheduled to hold talks with at least eight heads of state, including British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji, during his stay in Seoul, Rahmat said.

The President is scheduled to arrive home on Oct. 21 after one refueling stop in Hong Kong.

On his flight back to Jakarta on Saturday evening, Abdurrahman is scheduled to meet with Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew during a brief stop in the city state.

Abdurrahman, who has visited some 35 countries since taking office in October last year, has been criticized for putting global issues ahead of unsolved domestic problems. (byg)