Australian FM in Malaysia for talks

Australian FM in Malaysia for talks

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister Gareth Evans arrived here yesterday from Brunei for a four-day visit for talks that officials said would focus on regional security as well as bilateral issues.

Evans' visit is the first by a top Australian official following a diplomatic row sparked by Australian Premier Paul Keating calling his Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad a "recalcitrant" for skipping the U.S.-hosted Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Seattle in November 1993.

Describing Malaysia as "an old friend" of Australia, Evans said on his arrival here that the visit would strengthen bilateral ties.

"Our relationship is very smooth, very relaxed and comfortable at the moment and no bumps and no grouses," he said, after being received at the airport by Malaysia's Foreign Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Bilateral ties were smoothed out after a meeting between Keating and Mahathir at the second APEC meeting in Indonesia last November.