CSIS seminar to review Aussie-RI ties

JAKARTA (JP): The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) will host a seminar here beginning tomorrow to review the state of relations between Indonesia and Australia.

The four-day conference, to be divided between Jakarta and Surabaya, will focus on strategic, economic and political interests between the two countries, CSIS Vice Chairman Hari Tjan Silalahi told reporters yesterday.

The Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific (RIAP) of the University of Sydney will co-sponsor the meeting.

Australian foreign minister, Gareth Evans, is scheduled to give a keynote address, and there will be a presentation on behalf of his Indonesian counterpart, Ali Alatas, who is still recovering after recent heart surgery in Melbourne.

Other speakers include CSIS Chairman Jusuf Wanandi, RIAP director Tim McDonald and his deputy, Desmond Ball, Juwono Sudarsono of the University of Indonesia and CSIS chief economist Mari Pangestu.

A closed forum in Surabaya beginning on Sunday will discuss changing Australian and Indonesian societies and the impact on bilateral relations, both countries' experiences of economic reform and deregulation, the role of the media, lessons from AFTA and the ANZ-CER (Australia and New Zealand-Closer Economic Relationships) and the future of Australia-Indonesia relations.

During the conference, which is being held within the framework of the Australia Today Indonesia 94 trade and cultural promotion currently underway, an emphasis will be place on observing the sister-city relationship between various states in Australia and provinces in Indonesia. (pwn)