Indonesia Foreign Minister Meets Suu Kyi in Myanmar

YANGON, KOMPAS.com - Indonesia's foreign minister said Wednesday that Myanmar was ending 2011 with “less democratic deficit“ but cautioned there was more work to be done after meeting with democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.

Marty Natalegawa, whose country held the rotating chair of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year, expressed “strong support“ for Myanmar's recent reformist moves during a one-day visit to Yangon.

“2011 has been a very, very important year for Myanmar and therefore, as a result, a very important year for ASEAN,“ Natalegawa told reporters after holding talks with Suu Kyi and attending a bilateral meeting with his Myanmar counterpart.

“I think there is less democratic deficit at the end of 2011 but it's still a work in progress. It is not a done thing,“ he said.

Natalegawa, who last visited the army-dominated country in October, praised its new nominally civilian government for releasing some political prisoners and opening dialogue with opposition leader Suu Kyi and ethnic minority groups.

Myanmar was last month rewarded for its conciliatory gestures with the ASEAN chair in 2014, despite rights groups saying the move was premature. But Natalegawa said the responsibility of the chairmanship could “create further motivation for Myanmar to continue along its democratization path“ and said he had told Suu Kyi about the possibilities the regional bloc can offer.

Turning to his bilateral talks with government officials, Natalegawa said they had discussed ways to boost economic cooperation to see the trade volume between the two nations rise to $500 million by 2015, up from around $300 million this year.

The country also known as Burma relinquished the chance to head ASEAN five years ago due to international pressure for democratic reforms. Myanmar has been a source of embarrassment for ASEAN's more democratic states, overshadowing other problem members such as communist Vietnam and Laos, which have significant human rights issues of their own.

ASEAN also includes Brunei, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand.