Soeharto, Keating to meet in Bali

JAKARTA (JP): The government said yesterday that Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating and President Soeharto will meet in Bali on Sept. 17, to discuss regional and bilateral issues.

Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono said that Keating and Soeharto will specifically discuss the APEC meeting in Osaka, Japan, scheduled for November.

Moerdiono declined to mention specific concern that the two heads of government will discuss bilateral relations. "As usual, talks develop as they proceed. I won't speculate on what exactly they will talk about," he said.

Bali has been chosen as the meeting's venue because it is the closest stopover for Keating on his return to Australia from a visit to Papua New Guinea's capital, Port Moresby, he said.

Keating will be in Port Moresby to attend the South Pacific Forum and Papua New Guinea's 20th independence anniversary celebrations.

Leaders of the 18-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group are scheduled to hold their third annual summit in Osaka in November, to discuss trade liberalization.

APEC groups Australia, the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Japan, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea, Brunei, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand.

Keating has, on various occasions, said that no country is "more important" to Australia than Indonesia. The trip will be his fifth since he was elected prime minister in 1992.

He announced his plan to meet with President Soeharto on Tuesday in Canberra. (pan)