Clinton's envoy meets Suharto

A special envoy of President Clinton says he has held encouraging talks with President Suharto of Indonesia on the country's economic difficulties.

The envoy, Lawrence Summers who's the US Deputy Treasury Secretary said he had delivered a message from Mr Clinton on the importance of economic reform and that Mr Suharto recognised the need to take strong steps.

A senior official from the International Monetary Fund made similar comments after meeting the Indonesian president yesterday.

The talks are part of strong international pressure on the Indonesian authorities to implement, in full, economic reforms agreed under a forty-billion dollar loan package.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service