Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will make his first official visit to Indonesia on Thursday (Jan 8), the government has announced.

Abdullah, who took over from Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Oct 31, will lunch with Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri during the one-day visit.

Bilateral issues would not be raised during the meeting between the two leaders, Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar was quoted today as saying by The Star .

"Hopefully in the near future Abdullah can head a bigger delegation to Indonesia so that bilateral matters can be addressed," he said.

Among outstanding issues are ways in which to curb the illegal entry of Indonesians into Malaysia and the signing of an agreement on the recruitment of Indonesian workers.

Abdullah's trip is part of a traditional tour of Association of Southeast Asian Nations for newly-installed regional leaders. He visited Brunei last month and is scheduled to visit neighbouring Singapore on Jan 12.