Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto yesterday made little headway in his bid to encourage President Suharto to stick to the International Monetary Fund's prescription for curing Indonesia's economic ills.
Wrapping up a hastily arranged summit in Jakarta, he said Mr Suharto would have to make bold choices if he was to lift his country out of economic turmoil.
'I am deeply concerned about the economic difficulties which Indonesia now faces, and expect President Suharto to make courageous decisions in overcoming the present difficulties,' Mr Hashimoto said.
The Japanese leader arrived in Jakarta 18 hours earlier to tell Mr Suharto to implement the reforms, but even before he left he warned a 'concrete agreement' could not be expected.
'I hope we can emphasise agreement rather than disagreement so that our relations can be more constructive,' he said.
The meeting had been intended as an opportunity for Mr Hashimoto to underline the importance of Indonesia implementing its IMF-sponsored structural economic reforms.