"We are proposing a vast cooperation in the military and arms domain," President Aleksander Kwasniewski told a joint conference with Megawati at the outset of her 48-hour visit.

"We discussed political, economic, trade, military and tourism cooperation," Megawati said.

"Indonesia is at a stage of rebuilding its military capabilities and certainly Poland could be an important source of military armaments," Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said later after meeting Polish counterpart Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz.

On Friday, on the second day of her visit, Megawati is scheduled to attend a presentation of military equipment in Warsaw, including Polish communications systems, tanks, radars, planes and helicopters.

Indonesia has been under a US arms embargo since 1999, following the military's failure to stem violence in East Timor.

It has recently reached a deal to end its war with separatist rebels in Aceh province, but a devastating bomb attack at the tourist resort of Bali in October renewed fears that extremists could be operating on its territory.

At Thursday's meeting the two countries signed several cooperation accords in the areas of education, science and tourism. Megawati said talks broached a wide range of issues.

Megawati arrived in Warsaw after a five-day visit to Russia where she signed an accord with President Vladimir Putin strengthening ties, notably in the military domain.

Trade between Poland and the southeast Asian nation has been modest so far, reaching 240 million dollars (219 million euros) last year and with Poland having a weighty 208-million-dollar deficit.

Poland's main exports to Indonesia are wheat, electrical goods and dairy products.

It imports include electronic acoustic equipment, computers, rubber, palm oil, wood, chemical products, tea and coffee.

Both Polish and Indonesian foreign ministers also called at a joint news conference for the United Nations' role to be strengthened.

"Recent events showed that the United Nations was not efficient enough. Our two countries are interested in strengthening its role," Cimoszewicz said, in a reference to the Iraq war.

SPACE.WIRE