INDONESIA, MALAYSIA HOLD ANNUAL CONSULTATION

Jakarta, March 17 (ANTARA) - Indonesia and Malaysia held an annual consultation for the third time here on Tuesday to strengthen their bilateral relations.

The annual consultation, held at the Merdeka Palace, was led by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
At 10 on Tuesday morning the consultation was preceded by a ceremony at the veranda of Merdeka Palace to welcome Prime Minister Badawi.
After the reception ceremony, President Yudhoyono and Prime Minister Ahmad Badawi immediately led the annual consultation which was expected to last for about 90 minutes.
The annual consultation between Indonesia and Malaysia was held to strengthen bilateral relations and to reduce misunderstandings between the two countries.
President Yudhoyono and Prime Minister Ahmad Badawi would hold a joint press conference after the consultation and before attending a luncheon.
The annual consultation would be closed with an Indonesia-Malaisya dialog themed "Reviving Collective Memory of Inter-nation prosperity."
Prime Minister Ahmad Badawi arrived at Halim Perdanakusuma airport at 20:30 on Monday evening, and soon after attending the annual consultation, he would return to Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday evening.
The Malaysian prime minister was accompanied by his wife Jeanne Abdullah, several ministers among others Foreign Minister Rais Yatim, Information Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek, Human Resources Minister S Subramaniam, and a number of businessmen including Petronas President Mohd Hassan Marican.
Badawi's entourage was also made up of the members of Eminent Persons Group (EPG), namely former deputy prime minister Tun Musa Hitam and Tan Sri Abdul Halim Ali.
EPG is a working group which was established by Indonesia and Malaysia to reduce misunderstandings and to find solution to various problem that involved the two countries.