Soeharto meets Ramos and Goh

MANILA (JP): President Soeharto met Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos and Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong separately here yesterday on the first day of his two-day visit.

Soeharto landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in the afternoon to attend the fourth Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economic leaders meeting at Subic Bay today.

He arrived on a special Garuda Indonesia MD-11 flight from Jakarta accompanied by a 15-member entourage, including his two daughters, Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana and Titik Prabowo, and Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono.

He was greeted on the tarmac by Philippine Vice President Joseph Estrada and Senator Juan Ponce Enrile.

Also on hand were Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas, Coordinating Minister for Production and Distribution Hartarto and Indonesian Ambassador to the Philippines Abu Hartono.

Soeharto went straight to the Manila Hotel, where he will stay until he departs for Subic Bay tomorrow. Other guests at the historic hotel include U.S. President Bill Clinton and Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.

Premier Goh was among the President's first guests at the hotel.

Soeharto then paid a courtesy call on his host Ramos at the Coconut Palace. They spent 20 minutes together, officials said.

A Philippine official said Soeharto talked about encouraging other Islamic countries to invest in the Philippines' southern- most province of Mindanao -- most of the province's population are Moslem.

Indonesia was involved in brokering a peace agreement between Manila and the Moro National Liberation Front. The Zone of Peace and Development, established earlier this year, ended almost 30 years of warfare in the province.

Soeharto told Ramos he would encourage Islamic countries to invest in Mindanao during the Organization of Islamic Conference in Jakarta next month, the official said.

After the meeting, Soeharto left for the Philippine International Convention Center to attend the ceremonial presentation of the Manila Action Plan for APEC and a dinner hosted by President Ramos.

Soeharto is scheduled to fly back to Jakarta today after attending the APEC economic leaders meeting in Subic. (mds/pwn)