President Yudhoyono Arrives In Myanmar

Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, April 23 (Antara) - Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his entourage arrived here at around 1 pm local time for a state visit, April 23-24, 2013. The presidential airplane landed in Myanmar`s airport after flying for three hours and 20 minutes from Singapore, which is part of his three-nation trip that will also take him to Brunei Darussalam. Teuku Faizasyah, a presidential special staff for international relations, in Jakarta recently said Yudhoyono`s visit to Myanmar was aimed at boosting bilateral cooperation between the two countries, "The visit is expected to strengthen the existing sound bilateral relations between the two nations. Nowadays, opportunities are huge for economic cooperation as Myanmar`s economy is open in accordance with the country`s ongoing democratic transformation process," he said. Yudhoyono`s visit is to reciprocate the previous visit of Myanmar`s President U Thein Sein to Indonesia. During his visit in Myanmar, Yudhoyono will among other things hold a bilateral meeting with President U Thein Sein to discuss the bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and Myanmar in various fields. They will also talk about efforts to strengthen and intensify the bilateral ties further in the future. After the bilateral meeting, they will witness signings of several Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) among other things on cooperation in rice trade, capacity building, and trade and investment. Yudhoyono will also also hold a dialog with Indonesian diplomats and community in Nya Pyi Taw. He will leave Myanmar on April 24, for Brunei Darussalam to attend the 22nd ASEAN Summit, the Ninth Summit of the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-The Philippine East ASEAN Growth Area, and the Seventh Summit of the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle. The president is scheduled to return to Jakarta on April 26, 2013.