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)