Indonesia Prepares for Visit by Chinese Leader

Jakarta Globe, March 19, 2010, Putri Prameshwari

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Indonesia's Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono posing for photographers before a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta in 2006. (AFP Photo)

Barack Obama isn’t the only high-profile foreign guest Indonesia is expecting in the next three months, Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa said on Friday.

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao will visit sometime in April, Marty said. Indonesia and China will “push forward on the issue of strategic partnership between the two countries,” he told reporters at a press briefing.

Defense cooperation will be one of the key components discussed in the bilateral meeting. Other issues include economic, investment, and trade agreements.

Meanwhile, the postponement of Obama’s visit from March to June was “not the end of the world,” the minister said. “We are not disappointed.”

Marty said he would go to Burma by the end of the month for the traditional visit made by every new Asean foreign affairs minister.

Burma’s “upcoming election will certainly be discussed,” he said, adding that Indonesian delegation would learn more about country’s new election law. The junta that rules Burma with an iron fist recently unveiled a new law that will bar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi from running for office.

JG

This story has been corrected to remove a reference to a planned visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. No such visit is scheduled at this time. The Globe regrets the error.