Indonesia and Australia plan joint regional airline

Indonesia and Australia plan joint regional airline

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia and Australia agreed yesterday to
establish a joint regional airline to serve the proposed growth
area which links Indonesia's eastern provinces and the Australian
continent.

Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave told
reporters after meeting Australian Minister for Industry, Science
and Tourism John Moore that the plan would boost bilateral
tourism and trade cooperation.

Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Aburizal Bakrie, who attended the meeting, said Indonesia and
Australia must support their planned growth area.

"A regional airline, to be jointly owned by Indonesia and
Australia serving eastern Indonesia and Australia, would increase
passenger and cargo traffic," he said.

In 1994, Australia proposed establishing a growth area
grouping Indonesia's eastern provinces, Australia's Northern
Territory and possibly Papua New Guinea.

"If we could get a regional airline, I am quite sure it would
be enormously beneficial in terms of trade and understanding in
these areas. The future is very rosy," Minister Moore said.

Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto, who met his
Australian counterpart John Sharp yesterday, said he planned to
visit Australia in December to discuss the airline and other
aviation matters.

Joop said the chamber of commerce, whose executives took part
in yesterday's meeting, had asked whether the Australian
government would review its policy on business visas.

He said Indonesian businessmen wanted longer visas for
Australia.

The two countries also agreed to cooperate under a program
called the Year of Partnership 2000 for Olympic Games.

Sydney will host the Olympic Games in 2000. Indonesia wants to
attract some of the travelers going to Australia for the games.

"I don't want the event, in an Australian sense, to be seen as
a one town show. I want to see this as a national show and I want
to see Indonesia having an access to it," Moore said.

He said Indonesia and Australia could mutually benefit from
the partnership: "I wish the partnership will enable people who
are coming up to the games to stop in Indonesia or go to the
games and then come back through Indonesia."

Yesterday's meetings between Joop and Moore and between
Haryanto and Sharp were part of the third Australia-Indonesia
Ministerial Forum held at the Ministry of Tourism, Post and
Telecommunications. The forum was set up by Australia's former
prime minister Paul Keating and President Soeharto in 1992. The
first ministerial forum was held in Jakarta in 1992 and the
second in Canberra in 1994.

The Australian ministers in Indonesia for the forum include
Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Downer, Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister for Trade Tim Fischer, Minister for
Environment Robert Hill, Minister Moore, Minister Sharp and
Minister for Health and Family Services Michael Woolridge.

The forum is scheduled to end today with a number of
agreements being signed by top officials and private firms from
both countries. (icn)