Thailand to donate 5,000 tons of rice

Thailand to donate 5,000 tons of rice

JAKARTA (JP): Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan said
yesterday his government would donate 5,000 tons of rice and one
million baht (US$20,000) worth of medicines to Indonesia as a
token of solidarity.

The minister said he hoped his government's relief aid would
help reduce the sufferings of the Indonesian people.

"We will also donate medicines worth one million baht to our
needy brothers and sisters in Irian Jaya," Pitsuwan said after
meeting with President Soeharto at a museum inside the State
Palace compound.

During the meeting Pitsuwan was flanked by Indonesian Minister
of Defense Edi Sudradjat in his capacity as acting minister of
foreign affairs. Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas is in
Bangladesh on an official visit.

Pitsuwan arrived in Jakarta on Monday to convey a message of
encouragement from Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai on enduring
the severe economic downturn.

Before Pitsuwan left Thailand for Jakarta Thai officials told
the media that Pitsuwan would also discuss Cambodia's civil war
and the future of a proposed Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand growth
triangle.

"The President (Soeharto) has a very, very firm grasp of all
the issues that are facing all of us in Southeast Asia," Pitsuwan
said.

Thailand was the first member of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) hit by the currency crisis which began in
July last year with Thailand being forced to devalue the baht
against the U.S. dollar.

Other members of ASEAN are Vietnam, Brunei, Laos, Singapore,
Malaysia, The Philippines and Myanmar.

Indonesia pledged $500,000 in aid to Thailand before the
turmoil spread rapidly to the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia
and Singapore.

Indonesia and Thailand are the worst affected by the crisis.
And experts expect Thailand to recover faster than Indonesia due
to its stronger economic fundamentals.

As the largest country in the region Indonesia's recovery is
essential for regional stability, diplomats said.

"We look to Indonesia for leadership," Pitsuwan said. (prb)