East Java to Renew Western Australia Links

East Java Governor Imam Utomo and Western Australian State Premier Alan Carpenter will next month extend for another five years a 17-year-old sister-state relationship between the two provinces at a signing ceremony in Perth.

More than 25 government officials from East Java will accompany the Governor to Perth to attend the signing ceremony on 28 September, and to conduct a series of meetings with local counterparts and WA companies with an interest in East Java.

Australia’s Ambassador to Indonesia Bill Farmer welcomed the extension of the sister-state relationship, which he said had been a benchmark for other inter-city and inter-provincial agreements.

“Some sister-state relationships do not appear to have much impact on peoples’ lives, but the East Java-Western Australia agreement has proven different,” he said.

“The sorts of practical cooperation and exchanges that have taken place under the Western Australia-East Java agreement have helped to promote Australia’s overall relationship with Indonesia in a definable way.”

In addition to a number of cultural exchanges that have taken place under the agreement, first signed in Surabaya in 1990, there have been a number of successful development projects in East Java, including renewable energy projects and solar energy-driven water for poor villages in the province.

The agreement has also helped to promote East Java as a potential trade and investment target for Western Australian companies.

Western Australia’s Trade Representative in Jakarta, Martin Newbery, said Western Australian companies had been increasingly looking at investment opportunities in East Java. Major sectors of interest included the trade in live cattle and dairy cattle, the development of feedlots, wheat, potatoes, bamboo plantations, mango products, solar energy and oil and gas.

“A synergy in agriculture between Australia’s clean soil and Indonesia’s rich soil has also resulted in joint exports to third countries,” Mr Newbery said.

“Western Australia, for example, has highly suitable soil for seed potatoes, while East Java is a perfect place to grow the crop. On the other hand, live cattle from Western Australia are fattened on the rich soils of East Java either for export or domestic consumption,” he said.

While in Perth, East Java’s Governor will also open the Perth Royal Show alongside Western Australian Deputy Premier, Eric Ripper, on 29 September.

Newbery said the Western Australian State Government had designated Indonesia as “guest nation” at this year’s Perth Royal Show, which runs from 29 September to 6 October 2007.

“We have over 200 visitors from Indonesia coming to Perth for the event, including business people and performance artists, with the largest contingent coming from East Java,” Newbery said.

“The Indonesian exhibition - of around 1000 square metres - at Perth’s Claremont Showground, will excite the visitor’s imagination and curiosity to explore Indonesia’s cultural, gastronomic and economic diversity,” he said.

The Indonesian pavilion at the Perth Royal Show will be themed “Discover a New Indonesia”, with exhibits and performances set to highlight Indonesia’s cultural diversity, as well as business and investment opportunities.

Further information:
John Williams (Counsellor, Public Affairs) Tel. (021) 2553 5290 mob. 0812 1053 989