S. Africa's President Mbeki will be first leader to arrive in Jakarta

S. Africa's President Mbeki will be first leader to arrive in Jakarta

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

South African President Thabo Mbeki will be the first head of
state to arrive in Jakarta on Tuesday to attend the historic
Asian-African Summit (AAS).

South Africa is the co-sponsor of the two-day AAS, which will
be held from April 22 to April 23, along with Indonesia. Leaders
from more than 100 countries are expected to attend the summit,
whose main aim is to forge a new strategic partnership between
Asian and African states.

"President Thabo Mbeki will arrive in Jakarta on Tuesday. The
main purpose of this visit is two-fold. One is a state visit,
which will begin on Tuesday. The second is to attend the Asian-
African Summit as co-sponsor," the South African Embassy in
Jakarta said on Monday.

Around 60 heads of state/government are expected to arrive in
Jakarta on Thursday.

President Mbeki's two-day state visit is intended to
strengthen the existing ties with Indonesia as part of the
envisaged new partnership.

Both Indonesia and South Africa are regional powers in their
respective regions.

Mike Membukwe, counselor at the South African Embassy, told
The Jakarta Post that his foreign minister, Nkosozana Dlamini
Zuma, arrived late on Monday to participate in the Asian-African
Ministerial Meeting, which will be held on April 20.

Both President Mbeki and Zuma will participate in the Golden
Jubilee celebrations of the Asian-African Conference, which was
held in Bandung, the West Java capital, in 1955.

South Africa was not invited to the 1955 Bandung Conference as
it was still governed by the apartheid regime at that time. But
the African National Congress, the present ruling party, sent
Cachalia, Nagdee and Mosen Kotane to Bandung as observers.