RI, Suriname sign accords on cooperation

RI, Suriname sign accords on cooperation

By Rikza Abdullah

PARAMARIBO (JP): Indonesia and Suriname signed three
agreements here on Saturday to promote cooperation in investment,
tourism and telecommunications.

The agreement on the protection and promotion of investment
and the memorandums of understanding on tourism and
telecommunications were signed by Indonesia's Minister of Foreign
Affairs Ali Alatas and his Suriname's Foreign Minister Subhas
Chandra Mungra after a meeting between President Soeharto and
Suriname President Runaldo Ronald Venetiaan.

Alatas told reporters that the investment agreement is
necessary to assure that Indonesian capital in Suriname and
Suriname investment in Indonesia will be secure.

Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono said President Soeharto
offered to share Indonesia's experience in development programs
with Suriname, to enable it to benefit from Indonesia's successes
and to help Suriname avoid failure.

For example, Indonesia could send officials here to provide
consulting services to the Suriname government in its efforts to
get external loans and to explain how to manage the credit
properly, he said.

Soeharto and Venetiaan agreed that the Indonesian and Suriname
governments should encourage their businesspeople to exchange
visits and establish investment cooperation.

"Indonesian investors operating in Suriname must obey local
regulations and the Suriname government should not hesitate to
reprimand and impose sanctions against Indonesian firms violating
the rules here," Soeharto said.

Musa Group of Indonesia has been operating a forestry
concession in Suriname.

In the afternoon, President Soeharto and First Lady Tien
visited a cultural center, which has the Javanese language name
of Sana Budaya. The center was established with financial
assistance from Indonesia.

Soeharto also held a meeting with 150 Suriname leaders of
Javanese origin.

The President delivered his speech and spoke with the Suriname
people present in the Javanese language. He briefed them about
economic and political development in Indonesia.

Suriname has a population of about 425,000 people, 37 percent
of whom are Indo-Pakistanis, 31.1 percent Suriname Creole, 14.2
percent Javanese, 8.5 percent Bush Negro, 3.1 percent Amerindian,
2.8 percent Chinese, 1.4 percent Dutch and 1.7 percent of other
descent.

In the evening, Soeharto attended a meeting with 1,000
Surinamese of Javanese descent at a sports hall and made another
speech in Javanese. Javanese dances highlighted the ceremony.

The Javanese immigrants were brought into this country early
this century by the Dutch, who colonized both Indonesia and
Suriname.

President Soeharto ended his three-day stay visit here
yesterday morning and left for Saudi Arabia, where he, together
with First Lady Tien, will perform the umrah minor pilgrimage.

The minor haj will mark the conclusion of his two-week tour
which took him to Columbia, where he attended the 11th summit
meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement, to New York for the United
Nations special commemorative meeting for its 50th anniversary,
and to Washington where he had bilateral talk with U.S. President
Bill Clinton.

Moerdiono said that Soeharto's children and grandchildren will
join him in the Holy Land for the pilgrimage.

The minister said the head of state intends to express his
gratitude to God Almighty for Indonesia's independence, the 50th
anniversary of which was commemorated in August, during the
pilgrimage.

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