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)