The government is considering granting visa-on-arrival (VOA) facilities to Swedish citizens as part of efforts to upgrade the strained relations, as well as to attract more tourists and businessmen from Scandinavian countries.

The plan was conveyed during a meeting between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and visiting Swedish State Secretary Lars Danielsson on Saturday.

"We will certainly consider granting Sweden visa-on-arrival facilities during the upcoming review of the facility," said Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirajuda at a press conference after the meeting.

In 2004, Indonesia downgraded its relations with Sweden and did not appoint an ambassador to Stockholm because of Sweden's refusal to take action against leaders of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), who had become Swedish citizens.

The peace agreement signed by the Indonesian government and GAM in August 2005 in Helsinki ended hostilities in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and is likely to boost relations between Indonesia and Sweden.

With the VOA facility, visitors from Sweden could directly travel to Indonesia and process their visa at the airports rather than having to apply at Indonesian embassies for visas before entering the country.

At present, Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy, has granted such facilities to 34 countries, in order to attract around six million foreign tourists to the vast archipelago, as well as potential investors for the real sector.

The government introduced the visa-on-arrival policy in 2004 after revoking the previous visa-free facility for nationals from 48 countries.

Aside from visas, the meeting also discussed Indonesia's role in reforming the United Nation (UN). Indonesia is among 14 nations included in the so-called Leaders' Network in Support of UN Reform.

The first meeting of the network last week was attended by presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal, who has been appointed by Susilo as his special representative for certain international events.

Sweden set up the network in a bid to secure commitment from UN-member states for the realization of the reform agenda, which has been stipulated in the 2005 World Summit Document adopted by world leaders. Sweden held the presidency of the 60th session of the UN General Assembly.

"For Sweden, it is an honor that Indonesia is part of the 14 political leaders. President Susilo has shown to be a very committed internationalist who can make a difference in trying to achieve concrete results from the UN reform process," said Danielsson.

He added that Indonesia's role in the network was considered influential since the country plays a key role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and in the non-alignment movement.

During the meeting, Susilo also accepted an invitation from Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson to visit the country in the next couple of months.

Susilo also conveyed Indonesia's gratitude to Sweden in helping to rebuild tsunami-stricken Aceh Nangroe Darussalam as well as the country's support in providing funds and logistics for the Aceh Peace Monitoring Mission.

"The meeting was very constructive, with Indonesia soon to appoint its ambassador to Sweden in the next couple of months," said Hassan, adding that there was no detailed discussion of GAM leaders currently residing in Sweden.