VP visits KL, cements ties with Bangladesh

VP visits KL, cements ties with Bangladesh

KUALA LUMPUR (DPA): Indonesian Vice President Megawati
Soekarnoputri arrived on Sunday in the Malaysian capital of Kuala
Lumpur for a three-day official visit, her first since taking
office two years ago.

Megawati will hold talks with Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Monday, Malaysian foreign ministry
officials said.

"There is no fixed agenda for the meeting. It will be a free-
flowing discussion," Malaysian foreign minister Syed Hamid Albar
told reporters.

He said the visit was aimed at forging close personal contact
between Megawati and Malaysian leaders.

The two neighboring countries have close historical relations.
There are about a million Indonesians working as legal and
illegal migrant workers in Malaysia.

Megawati is accompanied by her husband, Taufik Kiemas, and
Indonesian foreign minister Alwi Shihab on her trip.

She will also have an audience with Malaysia's King, Sultan
Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah.

Megawati arrived in Kuala Lumpur from Dhaka where she said
Bangladesh officials had agreed to set up a joint commission to
boost political and business links between the two countries.

Megawati told reporters at the end of a three-day official
visit to Bangladesh that the commission would explore new areas
of bilateral cooperation and try to bridge the prevailing trade
gap favoring Jakarta.

The formation of the joint commission was also announced in a
statement signed by Indonesian foreign minister Alwi Shihab and
his Bangladeshi counterpart Abdus Samad Azad after overnight
talks between them.

Officials said the ministerial-level commission was expected
to be set up formally in the next two months.

Bangladesh has sought greater access of its products to the
Indonesian market to reduce the trade imbalance.

Indonesia exported to Bangladesh commodities valued at US$150
million in 1999 and imported goods worth $10 million.