UK foreign minister to visit Indonesia

JAKARTA, (JP): British Foreign Minister responsible for Asian and Middle East issues Ben Bradshaw will visit Indonesia from Aug. 26 to 28, the British Embassy announced here on Thursday.

The embassy said in its press statement that Bradshaw would be the first British official to make such a visit to Indonesia since President Megawati Soekarnoputri took office last month.

It said that the visit further underlined Britain's support for democratic and economic reforms in Indonesia.

In the absence of Megawati, who is on a whirlwind tour of Southeast Asian countries, Bradshaw will meet a number of ministers before traveling to Bali, where he will hold talks with Regional Military Commander William da Costa and the governor of Bali.

He will then travel to East Timor, which will hold an election next Thursday.

The Bali-based Regional Military Command oversees security in West Timor and formerly also oversaw East Timor, which is now under United Nations administration.