Pekanbaru, Riau Province (ANTARA News) - A number of environmental affairs ministers from ASEAN member countries are scheduled to meet in Riau capital city of Pekanbaru, on Friday afternoon, to discuss haze problem.

Prior to the ministerial level meeting, director generals in charge of environmental affairs from the ASEAN member countries discussed the matters in the same city.

Among those who have arrived in Pekanbaru on Friday morning were Indonesian Environmental Affairs Minister Rachmat Witoelar, Forestry Minister MS Kaban, Malaysian Environmental Affairs Minister Dato Sri Azmi Khalid, and a high ranking official from Thailand.

Singaporean Minister Yaacob Ibrahim and Brunei`s Development Minister Pehin O.K H Adi Abdullah Hun were on their way to Pekanbaru.

Visibility in Pekanbaru was limited on Friday morning as it was cloudy and covered by haze.

The haze in Sumatra and Kalimantan which has been going on for the last two months had caused disappointment of two neighboring countries, Malaysia and Singapore.

Previously, Forestry Minister Malam S. Ka`ban said that the haze in the past several days was the result of smoke accumulating from forest and bush fires raging in the previous days.

He said that there were about 6,000 hotspots in Indonesia in the past weeks but now their number had dropped to 600. The decrease was thanks to the use of water bombs from helicopters. (*)