PM to visit Indonesia, Vietnam

By Amit Baruah

SINGAPORE, DEC. 21. The Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee, will visit Indonesia and Vietnam early in the New Year. He is scheduled to reach Hanoi on January 7 for a three-day visit and will fly to Jakarta on January 10. The Prime Minister will pay a separate visit to Malaysia and Japan in February. The visit to Vietnam and Indonesia is significant in the context of India's desire to forge greater links with South- East Asia.

In the case of Indonesia, Mr. Vajpayee's would be the first bilateral visit to the archipelago in 14 years. The last bilateral visit was made by Rajiv Gandhi in 1986.

When the then Prime Minister, Mr. P.V. Narasimha Rao, visited Indonesia to attend the NAM summit in 1992, he had used the opportunity to meet the Indonesian leaders. The Indonesian President, Mr. Abdurrahman Wahid, who visited India on February 8 this year, is known to have a positive and forward-looking perspective on India-Indonesia relations.

Prior to Mr. Wahid's tour, the last bilateral visit was by Gen. Suharto, way back in 1980. The then Indonesian President, however, had travelled to India in 1993 for the ``Education for All'' summit and the G-15 meeting in 1994.

Diplomatic sources said Mr. Vajpayee's visit was being seen as significant on account of the new bilateral accent of both countries on building a forward-looking relationship. During his February visit, Mr. Wahid had suggested that there be a ``summit- level'' meeting between the two countries every year - alternately in India and in Indonesia. ``The visit by Mr. Vajpayee to Indonesia should be seen in that context,'' the sources said.

Talking to reporters on February 9 in New Delhi, the Indonesian President had said: ``In order to enable us to stay strong, there should be greater cooperation between China, India and Indonesia.''

More recently, the Indonesian Defence Minister, Mr. Mohamad Mahfud, had suggested a defence pact between India, Indonesia, China and Russia. While the proposal may have originated in frustration from the current state of U.S.- Indonesian relations, the fact remained that the Government had not contradicted the Minister.

Mr. Vajpayee's visit to Indonesia would be seen as a follow-up to Mr. Wahid's tour.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Front Page
Previous : Pak. begins troop withdrawal