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)