Howard sees stronger ties with RI<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
President-elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono did not wait until his
\ninauguration on Wednesday to meet with visiting world leaders to
\ndiscuss bilateral ties.<\/p>\n
Amid a hectic schedule on Tuesday, Susilo held separate talks
\nwith Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, newly reelected
\nAustralian Prime Minister John Howard and a special envoy from
\nJapan. The meetings took place at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in
\nCentral Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Each meeting lasted about 30 minutes, and Susilo's spokesman
\nDino Patti Djalal said "no issues were discussed in detail".<\/p>\n
In the first ever bilateral talks between Susilo and Howard,
\nthe Australian prime minister highlighted cooperation in the
\nareas of the economy and the war on terror.<\/p>\n
Australian citizens and interests have been targeted in
\nseveral terrorist attacks in Indonesia over the past few years,
\nwith the latest incident a bombing in front of the Australian
\nEmbassy in Jakarta in September that killed 10 people.<\/p>\n
Two years earlier, 88 Australian nationals were among the 202
\npeople killed in the Bali bombings.<\/p>\n
Regional terror network Jamaah Islamiyah has been blamed for
\nboth attacks.<\/p>\n
Speaking after meeting with Susilo, Howard predicted that ties
\nbetween his country and neighboring Indonesia under Susilo would
\nimprove.<\/p>\n
"He (Susilo) certainly is an impressive man," Howard said as
\nquoted by AP. "I think the relationship will strengthen under his
\nleadership. I believe he has a store of goodwill to Australia."<\/p>\n
Howard will join Bolkiah and other regional leaders, including
\nthe prime ministers of Malaysia, East Timor and Singapore, at
\nWednesday's inauguration of Susilo, the first Indonesian
\npresident to be elected directly.<\/p>\n
In comments to Metro TV prior to his departure for Jakarta,
\nHoward also backed away from preelection comments in which he
\nsaid Australia had the right to launch preemptive attacks on
\nterrorist cells in Indonesia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
"I wouldn't envisage that would occur in relation to
\nIndonesia," he said.<\/p>\n
Dino said that during Tuesday's meeting, Susilo proposed the
\nestablishment of an Australia-Indonesia forum to improve
\nbilateral ties across various fields. The first meeting of the
\nforum could take place in the near future, but Dino would not go
\ninto detail.<\/p>\n
Special envoy Yasuo Fukuda of Japan, meanwhile, discussed with
\nSusilo the expansion of Japanese investment in Indonesia. A large
\nportion of foreign investment here comes from Japan.<\/p>\n
"Japan also proposed the immediate formation of a forum to
\nboost economic, social and cultural cooperation. It would
\ncomprise senior officials from both countries," Dino said.<\/p>\n
Susilo plans to break the fast with Bolkiah and Malaysian
\nPrime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Wednesday evening before
\nannouncing his Cabinet lineup.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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