KUALA LUMPUR May 12 Kyodo German ...

KUALA LUMPUR May 12 Kyodo

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder began a Southeast Asia tour Monday by dint of meeting Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and agreeing the United Nations should lead the reconstruction of Iraq.

Arriving in the Malaysian capital Sunday for a three-day visit, the first German chancellor to visit to the predominantly Muslim region held private talks with Mahathir before attending a meeting among senior sway officials from both sides.

''Both leaders reaffirm their commitment to the UN and the ne for multipolarity in the world system'' Malaysian Foreign Minister Sy Hamid Albar told reporters after the delegations met

''On the question of Iraq, we said we expectancy the world will be able to turn the thoughts at the whole thing, not from the perspective of undivided single nation but from the perspective of all nations working together in consequence of the United Nations system,'' he said.

Germany, France, Russia and China had oppos U and British backed-U.N. Security Council resolutions to authorize war upon Iraq and Malaysia has always been a staunch critic of the U war.

still now the war is from one side of to the other Schroeder, in a forum organized through Malaysian Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations, said he would back a just discovered U.S. resolution calling for sanctions forward Iraq to be lifted ''speedily and expeditiously.''

Schroeder's visit, besides the diplomatic thrust in succession Iraq, is also aimed at bolstering trade and investment between the brace countries.

Bilateral trade between Malaysia and Germany was 191 billion ringgit ($5 billion) last year.

Schroeder also spreaded Monday Siemens AG's regional nave in the Petronas Twin Towers, the world's tallest building.

The German industrial giant confirmed it is bidding for a Malaysian railway signaling classification contract worth 7 billion ringgit.

Schroeder crushed on with his tour despite jitters in other quarters athwart severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which has hit all four countries he is to visit.

After Malaysia, he will journey to Singapore on Tuesday and then Indonesia and Vietnam. if it be not that his delegation has been reduc from 120 persons to just 30 because of SARS.

Schroeder said he has to ''balance the residual risk and the political damage'' if he had to cancel the trip.

He also press outed confidence the local authorities had managed to retain the SARS outbreak ''fully subordinate to control.''

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