Soeharto to meet Singapore Premier Goh in Yogyakarta
Soeharto to meet Singapore Premier Goh in Yogyakarta
JAKARTA (JP): Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong will
begin a two-day working visit in Yogyakarta today during which he
will also hold talks with President Soeharto.
Goh, according to an announcement by the State Secretariat
yesterday, will witness the signing of two major agreements
between the two countries.
One covers expanding cooperation in the tourism sector, while
the other centers on renewing a bilateral air agreement which has
been the subject of a protracted negotiation, particularly over
flying rights.
The agreement on tourism will be signed by Coordinating
Minister of Industry and Trade Hartarto for Indonesia and
Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister BG Lee Hsien Loong. The air
agreement will be signed by their transport ministers, Mah Bow
Tan for Singapore and Haryanto Dhanutirto for Indonesia.
According to the announcement, the meeting between Goh and
Soeharto in Yogyakarta is part of a regular informal series of
consultations which the heads of governments of the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regularly hold.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia, also an ASEAN
member, made an informal visit to Indonesia early this month.
Besides bilateral issues, Soeharto and Goh are expected to
discuss the preparations for the meeting of the leaders of the
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum which Soeharto
will host in Bogor, West Java, in November.
Goh's entourage will also include 18 Singaporean business
executives who will be on the lookout for investment projects and
joint ventures with Indonesians under the tourism agreement,
according to an earlier report from Singapore.
Under the new air agreement, five Indonesian airlines will be
allowed to fly to Singapore or make stopovers there. In return
for this concession, Singapore's two carriers will be permitted
to service 19 cities in Indonesia. Singapore Airlines planes will
also be allowed to pick up passengers in Jakarta on their way to
destinations in Australia, New Zealand and North America. (emb)