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.