Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived at the Merdeka Palace here on Thursday noon to begin a 10-hour state visit during which he will among others meet his Indonesian counterpart, President Susilo Bambang, Antara reported. After the welcoming ceremony marked by 21 gun salutes at 12.20 local time, President Putin will hold a tete-a-tete with Yudhoyono prior to a bilateral meeting between Indonesian and Russian delegation members. At 2.15 p.m., a number of cooperation agreements between the two governments in the fields of environment, sports, investment, auditing, management of terrorism, loan extension, culture and tourism, and procedural techniques for state budget payments and management will be signed. After the signing of the cooperation agreements, Putin and Yudhoyono will hold a joint press conference and at 5 p.m. the Russian president will visit the Kalibata Heroes' cemetery in East Jakarta. Putin and Yudhoyono are also scheduled to attend an Indonesia-Russia Business Forum at 5 p.m. and one hour afterward, the Russian president will meet Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla at a hotel here. The Russian head of state will attend a banquet, hosted by President Yudhoyono at the State Palace at 7.30 in the evening, and at 9.40 p.m. Putin will leave Indonesia for Sydney, Australia, to attend an APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) conference.
