Howard sees stronger ties with RI
Howard sees stronger ties with RI
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
President-elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono did not wait until his
inauguration on Wednesday to meet with visiting world leaders to
discuss bilateral ties.
Amid a hectic schedule on Tuesday, Susilo held separate talks
with Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, newly reelected
Australian Prime Minister John Howard and a special envoy from
Japan. The meetings took place at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in
Central Jakarta.
Each meeting lasted about 30 minutes, and Susilo's spokesman
Dino Patti Djalal said "no issues were discussed in detail".
In the first ever bilateral talks between Susilo and Howard,
the Australian prime minister highlighted cooperation in the
areas of the economy and the war on terror.
Australian citizens and interests have been targeted in
several terrorist attacks in Indonesia over the past few years,
with the latest incident a bombing in front of the Australian
Embassy in Jakarta in September that killed 10 people.
Two years earlier, 88 Australian nationals were among the 202
people killed in the Bali bombings.
Regional terror network Jamaah Islamiyah has been blamed for
both attacks.
Speaking after meeting with Susilo, Howard predicted that ties
between his country and neighboring Indonesia under Susilo would
improve.
"He (Susilo) certainly is an impressive man," Howard said as
quoted by AP. "I think the relationship will strengthen under his
leadership. I believe he has a store of goodwill to Australia."
Howard will join Bolkiah and other regional leaders, including
the prime ministers of Malaysia, East Timor and Singapore, at
Wednesday's inauguration of Susilo, the first Indonesian
president to be elected directly.
In comments to Metro TV prior to his departure for Jakarta,
Howard also backed away from preelection comments in which he
said Australia had the right to launch preemptive attacks on
terrorist cells in Indonesia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
"I wouldn't envisage that would occur in relation to
Indonesia," he said.
Dino said that during Tuesday's meeting, Susilo proposed the
establishment of an Australia-Indonesia forum to improve
bilateral ties across various fields. The first meeting of the
forum could take place in the near future, but Dino would not go
into detail.
Special envoy Yasuo Fukuda of Japan, meanwhile, discussed with
Susilo the expansion of Japanese investment in Indonesia. A large
portion of foreign investment here comes from Japan.
"Japan also proposed the immediate formation of a forum to
boost economic, social and cultural cooperation. It would
comprise senior officials from both countries," Dino said.
Susilo plans to break the fast with Bolkiah and Malaysian
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Wednesday evening before
announcing his Cabinet lineup.