Vietnam president completes visit in Bali
JAKARTA (JP): Vietnam President Le Duc Anh and his entourage flew home from the holiday island of Bali yesterday after a brief overview of how Indonesia runs its tourism industry.
He was seen off at Denpasar's Ngurah Rai international airport by Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunication Joop Ave, Indonesian Ambassador to Vietnam Dja'far Assegaf, governor of Bali Ida Bagus Oka and Commander of Udayana Military Command Maj. Gen. Adang Ruchiatna.
Anh flew to his home country on a Vietnam Airlines charter.
Joop Ave who accompanied Anh during his visit to Bali told reporters that Vietnam was interested in learning from Indonesia on how to develop tourism.
Anh with his five accompanying ministers were impressed with the way Indonesia develops its tourism, especially in Bali, where respect for the local culture is always well-maintained.
Joop said that Anh believed that the cultural values flourished through the development of tourism.
"Indonesia succeeds in developing its tourism because it pays attention to the values developed in society and upholds such principles," he said as quoted by Antara.
During his brief visit to Bali, Anh and his wife visited the handicraft center in Gianyar regency belonging to noted local handicraft Ida Bagus Marka. They also visited the Batubulan village to witness the famous Barong dance.
During a meeting with President Soeharto earlier Jakarta, Anh stressed Vietnam's serious efforts to join the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) which groups Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines.
The two heads of state also discussed the fate of the Vietnamese boat people on Galang island in Riau province and the demarcation of a disputed continental shelf in the South China Sea.
Indonesia is enthusiastic to clear Galang of the remaining refugees as part of its plans to develop the island, located just south of Singapore, as part of the Batam bonded industrial zone.
A joint press statement by Indonesia and Vietnam yesterday highlighted the need for the two countries to promote bilateral cooperations.
According to the statement, the two countries noted with satisfaction the good bilateral cooperation on population control and family planning, considering it as a concrete manifestation of the cooperation between developing nations. (07/par)