Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Myanmar President Thein Sein was the first leader who arrived in Jakarta for the 18th ASEAN Summit.

Besides attending the summit, Sein will also officially meet his Indonesian counterpart, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, at the Merdeka Palace.

The Myanmar president arrived aboard a special Airbus A320 which landed at Halim Perdanakusuma airport at 1.15 pm on Thursday and was welcomed by Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa, Kodam Jaya Military Commander Maj Gen Waris, and Jakarta Vice Governor Prijanto.

From Halim Perdanakusuma airport, President Sein and his entourage directly headed to hhe Ritz Carlton Hotel before being received by President Yudhoyono at Merdeka Palace in the afternoon.

The reception ceremony will be conducted at 3.30 pm before a bilateral meeting between the two state leaders.

At 7.30 pm, President Yudhoyono will host a banquet for Thein Sein who is visiting Indonesia for the first time since he was elected president in a general election in November last year.

The Myanmarese president is scheduled to attend the 18th ASEAN Summit in Jakarta on May 7-8, 2011.

He was the first to arrive in Jakarta for the two-day ASEAN Summit at the Jakarta Convention Center which is preceded by an ASEAN ministerial meeting on May 5 to discuss three pillars of defense and security, economy, and social culture. (*)

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Editor: Jafar M Sidik
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