Australian ambassador bids farewell

JAKARTA: Outgoing Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Richard C. Smith bid farewell to President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Wednesday to take up a post as Australia's new secretary of defense.

Smith, who took up his ambassadorial position here in January 2001, is one of the most senior diplomats in the Australian foreign ministry.

During his 21 months in Jakarta, Smith forged a good relationship with Indonesia and managed to navigate rocky bilateral relations strained after the separation of East Timor from Indonesia in 1999.

Canberra has yet to appoint a replacement. --JP