Indonesian president to visit Japan

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will embark on an official visit to Japan next Wednesday at an official invitation from Emperor Akihito of Japan. During the visit, the Indonesian Presidnet will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan. Yudhoyono will likely tour the March 11 earthquake-tsunami disaster zone to express sympathy for victims of the disaster, Indonesian sources said. Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa had met earlier with Japanese new ambassador to Indonesia Yoshinori Katori who pledges to boost cooperation in the economic field with Indonesia and promote more people-to-people contacts between the two countries. Indonesia is an important partner to Japan and therefore we consider cooperation with your country a crucial matter, Katori said. He said Indonesia was a major exporter of natural resources to Japan and, reciprocally, Japan was one of the biggest foreign investors in Indonesia.