AS environment ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) meet today in Indonesia to discuss the haze, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said that Indonesia will ratify the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution it signed in 2002.

Dr Yudhoyono told this to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a telephone call yesterday, in which he thanked Mr Lee for his letter of Wednesday.

He gave his assurance that Indonesia was determined to take effective measures to prevent future forest fires.

Both leaders agreed that Indonesia and the regional countries would take concrete steps and develop a long-term plan of action towards preventing the haze, according to a statement from Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mr Lee, who welcomed Indonesia's decision to host today's meeting, thanked Dr Yudhoyono for his commitment and sincerity in dealing with the problem.

He assured Dr Yudhoyono that Singapore would give Indonesia its full support.

The haze was not an easy problem to solve, but he was confident that with Dr Yudhoyono's leadership and personal attention, Indonesia would ultimately be able to tackle it successfully.

At the meeting in Pekan Baru, Riau province today will be Singapore's Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim, and his counterparts from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Dr Yudhoyono, who had apologised on Wednesday to Malaysia and Singapore over the crisis, "puts high hopes on the results of the Asean ministerial meeting", his spokesman said.

AS environment ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) meet today in Indonesia to discuss the haze, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said that Indonesia will ratify the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution it signed in 2002.

Dr Yudhoyono told this to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a telephone call yesterday, in which he thanked Mr Lee for his letter of Wednesday.

He gave his assurance that Indonesia was determined to take effective measures to prevent future forest fires.

Both leaders agreed that Indonesia and the regional countries would take concrete steps and develop a long-term plan of action towards preventing the haze, according to a statement from Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mr Lee, who welcomed Indonesia's decision to host today's meeting, thanked Dr Yudhoyono for his commitment and sincerity in dealing with the problem.

He assured Dr Yudhoyono that Singapore would give Indonesia its full support.

The haze was not an easy problem to solve, but he was confident that with Dr Yudhoyono's leadership and personal attention, Indonesia would ultimately be able to tackle it successfully.

At the meeting in Pekan Baru, Riau province today will be Singapore's Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim, and his counterparts from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Dr Yudhoyono, who had apologised on Wednesday to Malaysia and Singapore over the crisis, "puts high hopes on the results of the Asean ministerial meeting", his spokesman said.

AS environment ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) meet today in Indonesia to discuss the haze, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said that Indonesia will ratify the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution it signed in 2002.

Dr Yudhoyono told this to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a telephone call yesterday, in which he thanked Mr Lee for his letter of Wednesday.

He gave his assurance that Indonesia was determined to take effective measures to prevent future forest fires.

Both leaders agreed that Indonesia and the regional countries would take concrete steps and develop a long-term plan of action towards preventing the haze, according to a statement from Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mr Lee, who welcomed Indonesia's decision to host today's meeting, thanked Dr Yudhoyono for his commitment and sincerity in dealing with the problem.

He assured Dr Yudhoyono that Singapore would give Indonesia its full support.

The haze was not an easy problem to solve, but he was confident that with Dr Yudhoyono's leadership and personal attention, Indonesia would ultimately be able to tackle it successfully.

At the meeting in Pekan Baru, Riau province today will be Singapore's Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim, and his counterparts from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Dr Yudhoyono, who had apologised on Wednesday to Malaysia and Singapore over the crisis, "puts high hopes on the results of the Asean ministerial meeting", his spokesman said.