Xanana to visit Jakarta

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