Xanana to visit Jakarta

JAKARTA: East Timor President Xanana Gusmao will make his first official overseas trip, to Jakarta on Wednesday, in an effort to improve bilateral ties, a report said on Sunday.

Head of the Indonesian mission in Dili, East Timor, Kristio Wahyono, confirmed the report, saying that East Timor Armed Forces Commander Brig. Gen. Taur Matan Ruak would accompany Gusmao during the visit, which is aimed at formalizing an initial agreement to upgrade Indonesia's mission in the world's newest nation.

Gusmao's entourage will include his wife Kirsty Sword and their son, Minister of Foreign Affairs Jose Ramos Horta and his advisor Sonia Neto, director of the Jakarta representative office of the UN Mission to Support East Timor Lakhan Mehrotra, Indonesia director at the East Timorese foreign ministry Jorge Trindale, presidential advisor Ines Almeida and presidential aide Carlos Alberto.

Gusmao, a former guerrilla chief, arrested and imprisoned by the Soeharto regime before being released in 1999 by then president Abdurrahman Wahid, called for a new era in relations with Indonesia on May 20 after being sworn in as the president of an independent East Timor.

In a controversial move, Gusmao visited President Megawati Soekarnoputri in Jakarta earlier this month to personally invite her to attend East Timor's independence celebration.

During his visit to Jakarta, Gusmao will reportedly promote various bilateral issues between the two countries. -- Antara