Australia prepares for Wahid's visit

By staff and wire reports

CANBERRA, Australia -- Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has said preparations are in full swing for a scheduled visit by Indonesia's President Abdurrahman Wahid next week.

It would be the first visit by an Indonesian leader in 26 years.

Despite facing imminent impeachment, Wahid is planning to arrive in Canberra on Monday then travel to Sydney on Tuesday.

He will go to New Zealand on Wednesday and back to Australia's tropical city of Darwin on Thursday before leaving for the Philippines.

The trip has already been postponed five times by domestic troubles in Jakarta and bumpy bilateral relations with Australia.

"All the indications are that he is definitely going to come . . . we are going ahead with the full preparations at this stage," Downer told a news conference on Wednesday.

"It will be an interesting and productive meeting."

Wide range of topics

Wahid is facing an impeachment hearing on August 1 over his tumultuous 20-month rule and two financial scandals.

Downer said the talks between Wahid and the Australian government would cover a broad range of bilateral, regional and multilateral topics.

However, he declined to give details of what specific issues would be raised.

"I am cautious about being discourteous and publicly issuing what we are going to raise before the meeting," he said, as quoted by Reuters.

Downer also said a parliamentary banquet would be held in Canberra for Wahid, Indonesia's first democratically elected leader.

No other details about his itinerary were available.

Criticisms at home

Meanwhile, in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, House Speaker Akbar Tandjung criticized Wahid's overseas trip.

"Is there any urgency to make an overseas trip in time like this?" he said, as quoted by Antara news agency.

He added that Wahid should concentrate on the hearing, in which he is to deliver his accountability speech.

Since he became president less than two years ago, Wahid has visited dozens of countries but not Australia.

Ties between the neighboring countries were strained when Australia led a multinational force into East Timor in 1999 after a U.N.-brokered independence vote sparked violence by pro-Jakarta militias and earlier trips have been cancelled.

Wahid's most recently scheduled visit to Australia was in early April, but it was postponed after he was censure by parliament over two financial scandals. He denies any wrongdoing.

Reuters contributed to this report.