Soeharto touches down in Laos for the first time

Soeharto touches down in Laos for the first time

VIENTIANE (Agencies): Indonesia's President Soeharto, on his
first ever trip here, was given a royal welcome yesterday for a
visit to Laos which is expected to boost its hopes of joining the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) later in 1997.

Soeharto received a red-carpet welcome from President Nouhak
Phoumsavanh at the presidential palace.

After introducing his 48-member delegation which included
Foreign Minister Ali Alatas, Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono
and his daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, Soeharto paid a
courtesy call on Phoumsavanh at the Ho Kham presidential palace.

The Indonesian president arrived here from Phnom Penh for the
second leg of his three-nation tour. He is scheduled to leave for
Yangon tomorrow.

After inspecting the palace guard of honor Soeharto had a
private lunch and spent the afternoon free from official
engagements.

He was scheduled to attend a state banquet hosted by President
Nouhak yesterday evening at the presidential palace.

Noting that Laos's trade with Indonesia is tiny, observers
said the real purpose of Soeharto's visit is to help prepare
Laos' bid to join ASEAN, where it currently enjoys observer
status.

"In general, it's a goodwill visit tied to ASEAN membership.
Indonesia is cementing ties with smaller partners likely to come
on board," a western diplomat told AFP.

Observers see the admission of Laos to ASEAN as a sure thing
and believe it could become a full member in July when the ASEAN
ministers meet in Kuala Lumpur.

While Myanmar and Cambodia are also likely to be admitted to
ASEAN, some members of the European Union at last week's ASEAN-
Europe foreign ministers meeting (ASEM) voiced concern over
Myanmar's human rights record.

The Indonesian delegation downplayed the question of ASEAN
membership on this official visit, saying the issue was not on
the official agenda.

"Soeharto is not coming here to discuss that. It is a kind of
reply visit after the (Lao) president visited Jakarta in 1994 and
the prime minister in 1996," Suhaswoto Hidyoningrat, deputy chief
of protocol for presidential programs told AFP.

Soeharto's three-day stay in Vientiane will include official
meetings with Nouhak and Prime Minister Khamtay Siphandone today,
while Alatas is expected to meet with his counterpart Somsavat
Lengsavath.

Soeharto is also expected to witness the signing of two
accords on bilateral cooperation in agriculture and forestry
today as well as a bilateral air transportation accord, an
Indonesian diplomat said.

The agricultural deal will establish exchanges of technology,
data and personnel to promote cooperation in production
processing and marketing. The forestry accord will set up similar
exchanges.

Prior to leaving Phnom Penh yesterday, Soeharto took time to
meet with representatives from the Islamic community in the
Cambodian capital.

The group was represented by an eight-member delegation led by
Tol Lah, Cambodia's education, youth and sports minister.

Tol Lah explained that Moslems in Cambodia mainly consists of
the Champa tribe. He said there are about 500,000 Moslems and 280
mosques throughout the country.