RI, Australian ministers to have high-level talks

RI, Australian ministers to have high-level talks

JAKARTA (JP): Ministers from Indonesia and Australia are to
meet at the end of the week in a high-level discussion in an
effort to further jump start ties which have been on a downward
slope since the East Timor issue last year.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Rizal Ramli, Minister of
Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab, Minister of Industry and Trade Lt.
Gen. (ret.) Luhut Panjaitan, Minister of National Education Yahya
Muhaimin and Minister of Maritime and Fisheries Sarwono
Kusumaatmaja are slated to attend the meeting, which is expected
to take place in Canberra on Thursday and Friday.

The Australian delegation is due to be led by Minister of
Foreign Affairs Alexander Downer, Minister of Trade Mark Vaile,
Minister of Industry Nick Minchin and Attorney General Daryl
Williams.

Alwi confirmed that the meeting would go ahead after a
discussion with President Abdurrahman Wahid at Merdeka Palace on
Monday.

The meeting is actually part of the Indonesia-Australia
Ministerial Forum, which regularly takes place and usually
focuses on enhancing economic ties.

However, the planned meeting is seen as a strategic starting
point to help boost ties which have gone through an extremely
rocky period since Australia led a multinational force in East
Timor last year.

Some also see the visit as a precursor of a possible visit to
Australia by President Abdurrahman Wahid, which has been
postponed several times due to strong opposition from
legislators.

The Ministerial Forum meeting was originally scheduled for
November, but was canceled after Vice President Megawati
Soekarnoputri insisted that all Indonesian Cabinet ministers stay
in the country during the fasting month to focus on solving
domestic issues.

Both Alwi and Rizal said Megawati supported the visit as she
stressed great importance on bilateral ties with Australia.

Antara quoted Indonesia's Ambassador to Australia Arizal
Effendi as saying in Canberra that this would be an important
meeting as the two governments would exchange ideas on how to
realize bilateral ties in the economic, political, social and
cultural sectors.

The meeting, he said, would also show that despite strains in
their diplomatic relations, Indonesia and Australia were ready to
hold talks.

Arizal said the Australian delegation had reportedly expressed
hope that the meeting would discuss the situation in the restive
province of Irian Jaya and illegal migrants to Australia who have
used Indonesia as an entry point.

Commenting on the sudden decision to reconvene the meeting,
Arizal said: "Maybe the (Indonesian) ministers are sure that
there is no more work to do in December, so that they rescheduled
their meeting with their Australian counterparts".

Meanwhile AP quoted Downer as saying that "should it go ahead,
I think we can have a very constructive and useful meeting".

Asked about the continued bloodshed occurring in Irian Jaya,
Downer reiterated Australia's support for Indonesia's sovereignty
over the province.

"Obviously, we are concerned about the reports of fatalities
in Irian Jaya. And we have said all along that we would like to
see an exercise of restraint by all parties," Downer said.

"But we have also made it clear all along that we support
Indonesian sovereignty in Irian Jaya," he said in Canberra.