RI 'not strong enough' to resist pressures

RI 'not strong enough' to resist pressures

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto told visiting Yemeni
President Ali Abdullah Saleh that Indonesia's economic resilience
was not strong enough to resist external pressures.

Soeharto said in their one-hour meeting that he hoped
developing countries would learn from Indonesia's experience so
they would not make the same mistakes.

President Saleh expressed his sympathy to Indonesia, saying he
believed the country would be able to survive the economic
turbulence.

"He (Saleh) has a very strong impression that the Indonesian
situation is fairly stable, much better than what has been
reported by the foreign press," Minister/State Secretary
Moerdiono said after the two leaders' meeting.

Saleh and his 21-strong entourage arrived in Jakarta Thursday
for a four-day state visit.

His entourage includes Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of
Foreign Affairs Abdulkarim Al-Eryani, chairman of Yemen's
Consultative Council Abdulaziz Abdul Gani, Minister of Industry
Ahmad Safan'a, and Minister of Planning and Development Mohammad
Ba'jamal.

"Yemen wants to learn from Indonesia and to cooperate on the
exploration of oil and natural gas," said Moerdiono.

After the meeting, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas and
his counterpart Al-Eryani signed agreements on trade and the
promotion and protection of investment.

They also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the
establishment of a joint commission for economic, scientific,
technical and commercial cooperation.

Trade between the two countries is still low. Indonesian
exports to Yemen stood at US$22.443 million in 1996, while
imports were only $18.81 million.

This morning Saleh and his entourage will visit state-owned
ship builder PT PAL in Surabaya, East Java, before flying to Bali
for a night's rest. They leave Indonesia tomorrow afternoon.
(prb)