JEDDAH, 7 August 2004 — Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri arrived yesterday in the holy city of Makkah after visiting Madinah at the start of a two-day visit to confer with Saudi leaders on Iraq and other issues.
Megawati, who rules the world’s largest Muslim country, arrived at dawn in Madinah where she prayed at the mosque of the Prophet (pbuh), Saudi Press Agency said.
The Indonesian leader later traveled to Makkah to perform Umrah.
Megawati is due to hold talks with Saudi leaders in Jeddah today before leaving later in the day. She is expected to discuss “Islamic and Arab issues, including the possibility of sending Muslim troops to Iraq” as proposed by Saudi Arabia, sources said.
The Kingdom has proposed sending troops to Iraq to replace US-led multinational forces in the war-torn country. Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal also said on Sunday that troops should be sent only at Baghdad’s request and operate under the auspices of the United Nations.
He discussed the idea of deploying Muslim troops in Iraq with US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi when they both visited the Kingdom last week. The Indonesian Foreign Ministry said last Friday that Jakarta would send troops to Iraq only as part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission.
