Mega wants realistic ties with Australia
Mega wants realistic ties with Australia
JAKARTA (JP): Australian Prime Minister John Howard arrived
here for a working visit on Sunday in a bid to jump start
relations with the new Indonesian government.
Both Howard and President Megawati Soekarnoputri after a brief
tete-a-tete signaled their desire to establish a solid basis for
bilateral ties based on a realistic approach to the respective
conditions faced by the two neighbors.
State Secretary Bambang Kesowo told reporters that Megawati
"hopes the two nations can be more realistic in facing various
problems."
Howard arrived in a commercial carrier and landed at Soekarno-
Hatta International Airport just before 6 p.m. He was greeted by
Indonesian foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda.
The visit is extremely symbolic given the context of the
Indonesian political scene which saw Megawati appointed President
just a fortnight ago and the new Cabinet established 24 hours
earlier.
The timing of the visit, the first foreign head of state since
Megawati's ascendance, helps to further patch up jarred
diplomatic ties between Jakarta and Canberra following the East
Timor debacle in 1999.
President Abdurrahman Wahid in June became the first
Indonesian leader to visit Australia in two-and-a-half decades.
After separate courtesy calls on Megawati and Vice President
Hamzah Haz, Howard also told journalists that both leaders wanted
good relations with Australia.
"We recognize there have been some differences in the past,
but importantly there's a great deal of residual goodwill," he
said while stressing that people should not expect too much too
soon.
Howard and Megawati are said to be holding official bilateral
talks on Monday.
Both Bambang Kesowo and Hassan Wirayuda noted that the talks
are expected to touch on a wide range of bilateral issues
including East Timor and Irian Jaya.
However the focus of the discussion is expected to be on ways
to foster improved bilateral ties both through government
cooperation and people-to-people contacts.
Howard is also due to meet with People's Consultative Assembly
Speaker Amien Rais and House of Representatives Speaker Akbar
Tandjung before he returns home on Monday afternoon. (06/mds)