§ Mr. VazTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list his official engagements during his recent visits to(a) Indonesia, (b) Korea and (c) Malaysia. [42398]
§ Mr. Gordon BrownMy visit to Asia began in Korea, where I met President Kim Dae-Jung, the Ministers of Finance and Foreign Affairs and the Governor of the Bank of Korea. I also met members of the business and financial community, and representatives from the trade unions.
I then travelled to Malaysia, where I met Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim. As in Seoul, I also had discussions with members of the business and financial community in Kuala Lumpur.
The final leg of the visit was to Indonesia. I met President Soeharto and delivered a strong message on the need for political reform. I then met a number of the key figures involved in the economic reform effort: the Ministers for the Economy, Finance, and Trade and Industry, and the Governor of the Bank of Indonesia. I also delivered a speech at the Jakarta Stock Exchange on strengthening the architecture of the international financial system, and visited a World Bank rehabilitation project.