Susilo meets world leaders at State Palace
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono accepted courtesy calls on Thursday from a number of foreign leaders to talk about efforts to enhance relations ahead of the Asian-African Summit.
First on Susilo's guest list was Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, who came to the State Palace in the morning. Gen. Musharraf expressed a wish to collaborate with Indonesia in the defense industry and trade fields.
Susilo's international affairs spokesman, Dino Pati Djalal, said that the two leaders had agreed to increase defense cooperation and encourage enhanced trade relations between the private sectors of the two countries.
"Talks about cooperation in the defense industry took up most of the time. Pakistan has developed independent military technology that could be of interest to Indonesia," said Dino at the State Palace.
Pakistan, a Muslim country with nuclear weapons, has been trying to increase its defense capabilities by inking cooperation agreements with various countries, including China, while Indonesia has been trying to modernize its military capabilities, which have been badly hit by a prolonged military equipment embargo imposed by the United States
Dino said that the two leaders had also discussed efforts to promote the values of modern Islam to the rest of the world, and had touched upon the problems faced by the members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).
In the security and political fields, the two leaders were involved in a discussion about recent security problems and developments in Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well as attempts to combat terrorism
"President Musharraf conveyed his desire to engage actively in political developments in East and Southeast Asia," said Dino.
In the economic sector, Indonesia -- the world's largest Muslim majority nation -- and Pakistan, expressed an interest in establishing a business forum aimed at boosting cooperation between the private sectors of the two countries.
Later in the day, Susilo received Kim Yong-nam, the chairman of the presidium of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly.
According to Dino, although the two leaders discussed the Asian-African Conference, President Susilo implicitly conveyed his support for a peace settlement between North Korea and its neighbor South Korea.
"President Susilo hoped that the tension on the Korean Peninsula could be eased through dialog, and said that Indonesia would help both sides in any way that it could to help promote peace," said Dino.
Dino denied speculation that the meeting also discussed North Korea's controversial nuclear ambitions, or the involvement of the United States in resolving problems in the region.
Meanwhile, later in the day, President Susilo also accepted courtesy calls at the State Palace from Zimbabwean President Robert G. Mugabe and Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir.
In the evening, Susilo received Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Sinawatra.