Thai PM arrives for two-day state visit

Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is scheduled to arrive for a two-day visit here on Thursday with the aim of bolstering cooperation between the two countries.

After arriving at the Halim Perdanakusumah Airport, the Prime Minister will proceed directly to the State Palace to meet President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

During the visit, his first trip to Indonesia after taking office in Jan. 2000, the Prime Minister will also meet with House Speaker Akbar Tandjung and the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Amien Rais.

Thaksin is also scheduled to sign a number of cooperation agreements with Indonesia related to culture, education and information.

Cooperation between the two countries is mostly in trade relations, with Indonesia importing rice and sugar to meet domestic demand. Indonesia imports 1.2 million tons of sugar and 2.5 million tons of rice per year from Thailand.

Aside from rice and sugar, Indonesia also imports coal -- as much as 9 million tons per year --, as well as rubber.

The two countries, along with Malaysia, have cooperated in efforts to boost world prices of rubber, where Thailand is the world's largest rubber producer and exporter, followed by Indonesia and Malaysia. The three countries control between 80 and 85 percent of world rubber production.

Thailand is Indonesia's partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), along with nine other Southeast Asian countries. --JP